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PRACTICAL 


TROUT  CULTURE. 


BY 

J.    H.    SLACK,    M.D*., 

COMMISSIONER  OF  FISHERIES,  N.  J. ;  NATURAL  HISTOHT  EDITOR  OP  "  TURF, 

FIELD,  AND  FARM,"  N.  Y.  ;   PROPRIETOR  OF  TROUTDALK  PONDS, 

NEAR  BLOOMSBURY,  N.  J. 


We  speak  that  we  do  know,  and  testify  that  we  have  seen." 


NEW  YORK: 
GEO.     E.     WOODWARD. 


ORANGE     JUDD     &     CO., 

245    BROADWAY. 

1872. 


' 

-rs 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1872, 

BY    J.    H.    SLACK, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  in  Washington. 


JOHN  K  KNT, 

Stereotyper  and  Electrotyper^ 
13  FRANKFORT  ST.,  N.  Y. 


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INTRODUCTION. 


"  THEREFORE,  honorable  and  worthy  conntrymen,  let  not  the  mean- 
ness of  the  word  fish  distaste  you,  for  it  will  afford  as  good  gold  as  the 
mines  of  Guiana  or  Potosi,  with  less  hazard  and  charge,  and  more  cer- 
tainty and  facility."— Smith's  Hist,  of  Virginia.  London,  1624;  page  248. 

THESE  words  of  the  original  John  Smith,  written  some  two 
hundred  years  since,  were  prophetic.  Spite  of  the  sneers  and 
scorn  of  the  ignorant,  to  which  few  have  been  more  exposed  than 
ourselves,  and  spite  of  the  wails  of  would-be  pisciculturists,  who, 
dazzled  by  the  imaginary  balance-sheets  of  hypothetical  trout 
farms,  have  rushed  ignorantly  into  fish-farming  and  become  dis- 
gusted that  the  mines  of  Guiana  or  Potosi  were  not  at  once 
opened  to  them,  fish  culture,  in  the  hands  of  able  and  perse- 
vering individuals,  has  proven  to  be  a  thorough  and  complete 
success.  That  many  have  failed,  there  is  no  doubt ;  but  com- 
pared to  the  number  of  those  whose  fortunes  have  been  wrecked, 
if  not  upon  the  mines  of  Guiana  and  Potosi,  upon  other  equally 
unprofitable  investments,  the  number  is  few  indeed.  Fish  cul- 
ture, like  farming,  is  a  branch  of  industry  which,  strange  to 
say,  is  generally  though  erroneously  supposed  to  require  little 
or  no  study.  We  have  known  numbers  of  cases  in  which  large 
sums  of  money  have  been  invested  in  fish  culture  by  tyros,  whose 
only  knowledge  had  been  gained  from  a  few  articles  in  the 
columns  of  a  newspaper,  or  from  the  only  original  American 


v  INTRODUCTION. 

work  then  written  upon  the  subject.  The  result  of  book-farm- 
ing is  proverbial ;  that  of  book  fish-farming  is  equally  disas- 
trous. Yet  far  be  it  from  us,  especially  at  the  commencement 
of  a  treatise  upon  the  subject,  to  ignore  the  value  of  technical 
works;  they  are  much,  but  not  all;  and  the  preparation  of  the 
reader  for  their  full  comprehensio*n  is  only  to  be  "obtained  at 
the  pond  side  and  in  the  hatching-house,  where,  and  where 
alone,  the  thousand  minutiae  of  the  work  of  the  fish-farmer  can 
be  observed  and  thoroughly  learned. 

In  the  following  pages  we  hope  to  present  to  our  readers,  as 
far  as  can  be  presented  in  a  volume,  the  theory  and  practice  of 
fish  culture — the  theory  as  we  understand  it,  and  the  practice 
as  we  have  performed  it  at  our  fish  farm  near  Blooinsbury,  N.  J. 
This  farm  was  purchased  by  us  in  August,  1867,  of  Mr.  Thad- 
deus  Norris,  a  gentleman  well-known  both  as  an  author  and 
angler.  The  place  was  in  an  unfinished  condition,  but  one  pond 
had  been  erected  and  stocked  with  a  few  hundred  sickly  fishes. 
At  first,  our  undertaking  was  anything  but  prosperous.  Our 
stock  fishes  died  by  dozens;  our  spawn,  from  want  of  proper 
knowledge  of  the  theory  of  impregnation,  and  the  sickly  con- 
dition of  our  parent  fishes,  perished  by  thousands.  Musk  rats 
bored  their  way  through  our  improperly-constructed  banks;  a 
flood  carried  away  thousands  from  our  badly-located  hatching 
house,  and,  finally,  during  our  absence  from  home,  some  kind  in- 
dividuals relieved  us  of  a  large  number  of  our  finest  fishes. 

Far,  however,  from  being  discouraged  at  this  multiplicity  of 
misfortunes,  we  at  once  set  ourselves  to  work  after  each  new  dis- 
aster to  ascertain  its  cause  and  prevent  its  recurrence,  and  we 
are  happy  to  state  that  we  have  met  with  no  repetition  of  any 
of  these  evils.  Our  undertaking  has  for  two  years  past  been  in 
every  respect  a  perfect  success ;  and  we  have  now  on  hand  at 
least  thirty  thousand  trout,  from  three  to  eighteen  inches  in 


INTRODUCTION.  Vll 

length,  all  raised  from  spawn  impregnated  by  ourselves.  In 
every  case  our  misfortunes  could  be  traced  to  our  own  ignorance 
or  neglect.  For  the  latter  we  can  offer  no  excuse ;  for  the 
former  we  can  only  plead  the  great  want  of  facilities  for  instruc- 
tion which  then  existed.  Thus  far,  but  two  original  works*  on 
fish  culture  have  appeared  in  America,  and  both  were  issued 
subsequent  to  our  entering  upon  the  business.  These  works, 
written  as  they  are  by  two  of  our  most  renowned  fish  culturists, 
should  have  a  place  in  the  library  .of  every  lover  or  practitioner 
of  the  art.  Yet,  as  a  practical  man,  we  feel  that  many  points 
of  the  greatest  importance  are  in  them  but  casually  mentioned ; 
and  since  their  publication  many  new  facts  have  appeared  and 
new  theories  been  advanced,  beside  the  invention  of  labor-sav- 
ing apparatus,  which  we  think  will  render  a  new  work  upon  the 
subject  not  unwelcome  to  the  fish-breeding  fraternity. 

Though  every  care  has  been  taken  in  the  preparation  of  this 
work,  we  can  not  flatter  ourselves  that  it  is  perfect.  New  theo- 
ries will  often  be  accepted,  rendering  the  old  baseless  or  even 
ridiculous.  New  inventions  may  be  made  by  which  the  manual 
labor  required  will  be  still  more  simplified,  though  the  Collins7 
spawning  race,  by  which  spawn  may  be  taken  without  wetting 
the  hands  of  the  operator,  seems  to  us  the  ne  plus  ultra  of  labor 
and  health  saving  apparatus.  Much  has  already  been  done,  but 
the  science  is  still  in  its  infancy  ;  doubtless  much  remains  to  be 
discovered  and  invented,  as  "  let  well  enough  alone  "  is  a  maxim 
not  to  be  obeyed  by  the  fish-breeder.  All  science  is  progressive, 
and  fish  culture  must  not  be  expected  to  be  an  exception  to 
the  rule. 

*Norris'  "American  Fish  Culture,"  Philadelphia,  1868;  Green's  "Trout  Cul- 
ture," Rochester,  1870. 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTION.  —  Necessity  of  Practical  Instruction  — 
American  Piscicultural  Literature 5 

CHAP.  I.— HISTORY  OP  FISH  CULTURE.— Chinese— Romans— 
Dom  Pinchon  — Lund — Jacob!  — Bachman  — Remy — Gar- 
lick — Ainsworth — Green 11 

CHAP.  II.— CHOOSING  A  LOCATION.— Requirements :  Water- 
Sufficient  Fall— Materials  for  Bank  Construction— Surface 
Water— Poachers 23 

CHAP.  III. — PLANNING  AND  CONSTRUCTION  OP  PONDS. — 
Number  of  Ponds  Required — Shape— Size — Troutdale — 
Direct  Ponds — Dimensions  of  Banks — Muskrats — Sluice- 
Gates—Screens—Shade—Aquatic  Plants— Fence 30 

CHAP.  IV. — HATCHING  -  HOUSES  AND  APPARATUS.  —  Simple 
Trays — Necessity  for  a  Building — Trough  System — Ca- 
ron  Trays  —  Advantages  —  Trout-Hatching  under  Diffi- 
culties—Arrangement in  Flights  —  Troutdale  Hatching- 
House—Mixed  System— Disadvantages— Rats  and  Mice- 
Piping— Filters  ; 41 

CHAP.  V.— SPAWNING  RACES.— Natural  System— Descrip- 
tion of  Natural  Impregnation— Dangers  during  Incuba- 
tion —  Byssus — Insects  —  Water-Fowl  —  Fish  Ladders  — 
Shade  and  Quiet  Necessary— Single  Screens— Ainsworth 
Race— Collins'  Patent  Roller  Spawning  Race 58 


X  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAP.  VI  — ARTIFICIAL  IMPREGNATION.  —  Males  and  Fe- 
males—  How  Distinguished — Capture  of  Ripe  Fishes — 
Impregnating  Pans  —  Manipulation  —  Theory  of  Impreg- 
nation —  M.  Vrasski's  Experiments — Causes  of  Failure — 
Remedy 70 

CHAP.  VIL  — INCUBATION.  — Cautions— Barren  Females  — 
Removal  of  Unimpregnated  Spawn — Pincers,  Pipettes, 
and  Scoop  — Objections  — Bulb-Syringe  — The  Byssus  a 
Bugbear — Charred  Troughs — Substitute — Rats  and  Mice 
— Poisoned  Candles — Development  of  Fish  in  Egg — Med- 
dlesome Midwifery  —  Removal  of  Young  to  Nursery  — 
Precautions  Necessary 87 

CHAP.  VIIL — CARE  OP  YOUNG  IN  NURSERY.— Young  when 
First  Hatched— Care  Necessary  —  Young  Four  Weeks 
Old— Food— Curd— Yolk  of  Egg— Objections— Heart  or 
Kidney— Preparation  and  Method  of  Feeding— Epidem- 
ics— Time  of  Removal— Patents— A.  P.  A 99 

CHAP.  IX.— FIRST  YEAR,— Preparation  of  Pond— Removal 
Nets— Advantages  of  Aquatic  Plants— Feeding  Maggots, 
and  the  Maggotometer— Nail  Keg  Arrangement 110 

CHAP.  X.  — SECOND  AND  THIRD  YEARS.  — Food:  Curd- 
Heart— Lights— Cutting  Apparatus— Advantages— Killey 
Fishes  —  Fish  Entrails  —  Diseases  —  Size  Attained  —  Fish 
Stories 123 

CHAP.  XL  —  TRANSPORTATION.—  Packing  Spawn  — Moss- 
Sponge— Dangers  in  Transitu  —  Transporting  Adults- 
Transit  Tank— Its  Achievements— Condensed  Air 130 

CHAP.  XII.— BIBLIOGRAPHY  OP  FISH  CULTURE 143 


PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 


CHAPTER  L 

HISTORY  OF  FISH  CULTURE. 

IT  is  a  fact  well  known  that  fish-hatching  has 
been  carried  on  by  the  Chinese  from  the  earliest 
periods  of  the  world's  history,  their  oldest  writers 
mentioning  the  fact,  and  it  is  stated  by  savans 
that  in  the  works  of  Fo-hi,  who  flourished,  accord- 
ing to  the  computation  of  the  best  authorities, 
2,100  B.C.,  mention  is  made  of  laws  regulating  the 
time  at  which  fish  spawn  should  be  taken.  The 
earliest  European  notice  of  Chinese  pisciculture 
we  have  met  with,  is  that  of  Father  Duhalde,  a 
Jesuit  missionary,  who,  in  1735,  published  at 
Paris  a  history  of  the  Chinese  Empire,  in  which 
he  states  that,  "At  a  certain  season  of  the  year 
an  immense  number  of  merchants  resort  to  the 
banks  of  the  Yang-tse-kiang  for  the  purpose  of 
purchasing  fish  spawn.  In  the  month  of  May 
the  country  people  place  across  the  current  of  the 
river,  mats  and  hurdles  extending  for  a  distance 


12  PEAOTICAL  TEOUT  CULTURE. 

of  nine  or  ten  leagues,  leaving  only  an  opening 
sufficiently  wide  for  the  passage  of  vessels.  The 
fish -spawn,  in  its  passage  down  the  river,  is 
caught  upon  these  hurdles  ;  it  is  removed,  placed 
in  vessels  of  water,  and  sold  at  once  to  the  mer- 
chants who  transport  it  to  various  parts  of  the 
Empire. "  This  statement  is  corroborated  "by  the 
testimony  of  modern  travelers,  who  speak  of  im- 
pregnated spawn  as  a  regular  article  of  commerce. 
The  eggs  thus  obtained  are  in  precisely  the  same 
condition  as  those  taken  by  the  Ainsworth  or 
Collins  spawning  race,  being  naturally  impreg- 
nated ;  and,  strange  to  say,  this  naturally-impreg- 
nated trout  spawn  is  now  sold  at  prices  much 
higher  than  that  taken  by  hand,  though  in  our 
experience  the  proportion  of  properly  impreg- 
nated eggs  is  much  greater  by  the  latter  process. 
The  enormous  piscines  of  the  Romans,  both  under 
the  Republic  and  the  Empire,  as  well  as  the  ac- 
counts which  have  been  transmitted  to  us  of  the 
enormous  prices  paid  for  their  contents  (in  one 
case,  that  of  Lucullus,  four  million  sesterces, 
$160,000,  having  been  obtained),  show  that  fish 
culture,  if  not  fish  breeding,  had  at  that  period 
attained  gigantic  proportions.  We  have  full  and 
accurate  accounts  of  the  huge  piscines,  and  their 
voracious  inhabitants,  to  whom  even  the  flesh  of 
a  well-fattened  slave  came  not  amiss;  and  it  is 


HISTORY  OF  FISH  CULTURE.  13 

more  than  probable  that  had  artificial  means  been 
resorted  to  for  the  impregnation  and  hatching  of 
the  ova,  some  account  of  it  would  have  been 
transmitted  to  us. 

The  numerous  fasts  imposed  upon  the  monks 
during  the  middle  ages  by  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  rendered  an  ample  supply  of  fish  food 
an  article  of  paramount  importance  to  the  mo- 
nastic fraternity ;  and  to  them  we  would  natur- 
ally look  for  any  improvement  in  the  art  of  fish 
culture.  While  hunting  among  the  musty  arch- 
ives of  the  Abbey  of  Reome,  Baron  Mongaudry 
accidentally  discovered  that  a  monk  of  that  relig- 
ious establishment,  yclept  Dom  Pinchon,  during 
the  fourteenth  century,  practiced  a  method  of 
hatching,  at  least  similar  to  that  still  pursued  in 
some  of  our  largest  trout  farms.  How  the  rever- 
end father  obtained  his  spawn  is  unfortunately 
not  recorded  ;  but  obtain  them  he  did,  and  no 
doubt  received  the  blessing  of  his  confreres  for 
the  welcome  additions  to  their  larder.  To  Dom 
Pinchon  must  be  ascribed  the  honor  of  the  inven- 
tion of  the  first  hatching-box. 

In  1761,  C.  F.  Lund,  of  Linkoeping,  Sweden, 
having  noticed  the  spawning  of  fishes  in  Lake 
Koken,  prepared  a  large,  wide,  shallow  box,  in 
which,  the  bottom  being  covered  with  brush,  he 
placed  male  and  female  carp  during  the  spawning 


14  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

season.  As  soon  as  the  spawn  was  deposited,  the 
parents  were  removed  and  the  eggs  protected  from 
the  attacks  of  enemies.  This  process  is  still  prac- 
ticed with  success  in  various  portions  of  the  Con- 
tinent. In  1752,  Spallanzani,  the  eminent  Italian 
naturalist,  performed  for  the  first  time  the  opera- 
tion of  artificial  impregnation,  not  with  fishes,  but 
with  the  frog ;  yet  the  fact  was  established,  and 
it  was  not  long  ere  practical  benefit  was  derived 
from  it.  To  Lieut,  (afterward  Major)  Gr.  L.  Ja- 
cobi,  of  Hollenhausen,  must  be  given  the  credit 
of  first  introducing,  if  not  discovering,  the  pro- 
cess of  artificial  impregnation  of  the  eggs  of  fishes. 
The  results  of  his  experiments,  which  were  pre- 
eminently successful,  were  published  in  1763  in 
the  Hanover  Magazine,  a  local  periodical  with 
but  a  small  circulation,  and  for  a  few  years  ex- 
cited no  attention  ;  but  by  its  translation  into 
Latin  by  Goldstein,  and  French  by  Duhamel  du 
Monceau,  in  1773  it  was  brought  to  the  notice  of 
the  scientific  world.  Jacobi's  account  of  his 
method  forcibly  recalls  to  mind  the  pictures  of  a 
poor,  tortured  salmon  being  held  up  by  a  hand 
to  which  no  body  is  attached,  her  eggs  falling  in  a 
graceful  curve  into  a  pan  of  water  beneath,  which 
were  wont  to  ornament  the  covers  of  the  numerous 
French  pamphlets  on  pisciculture.  Jacobi  says  : 
"  Place  in  a  clean  vessel  about  a  pint  of  pure 


HISTOEY  OF  FISH  CULTURE.  15 

water ;  seize  the  salmon  by  the  head,  and  hold 
her  over  it ;  if  the  eggs  have  arrived  at  maturity 
they  will  fall  out  of  her  of  their  own  accord ;  if 
not,  press  lightly  on  the  belly  with  the  palm  of 
the  hand,  the  eggs  will  then  detach  themselves 
and  fall  easily  into  the  water.  Perform  the  same 
operation  on  a  male  salmon,  and  when  there  is 
enough  milt  upon  the  eggs  to  whiten  the  surface 
of  the  water,  the  fecundation  of  the  eggs  will  be 
accomplished."  His  hatching-trough  was  similar, 
strange  to  say,  to  that  of  Dom  Pinchon.  Full 
directions  are  given  for  the  removal  of  dead 
spawn,  and  the  care  required  by  the  living.  His 
is  the  first  work  upon  pisciculture  as  a  science. 
Under  the  care  of  Lieut.  Jacobi,  fish  farms  were 
established  at  Nortelem,  Hanover,  and  Hohenhau- 
sen,  and  the  fish  produced  became  an  important 
article  of  commerce ;  it  is  stated  that  the  Queen 
of  England  bestowed  a  handsome  pecuniary  re- 
ward upon  their  founder. 

The  next  aspirant  for  piscicultural  honors  is 
an  American  school-boy.  The  late  Rev.  John 
Bachman,  D.D.,  of  Charleston,  S.  C.,  claimed,  in 
a  paper  read  before  the  State  Agricultural  Soci- 
ety, in  1855,  that  in  1804,  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
years,  he  had  impregnated  and  hatched  the  eggs 
of  trout  and  other  fishes.  This  has  been  denied 
and  ridiculed,  but  the  character  of  Dr.  Bachman 


16         PEACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

as  a  Christian  gentleman  is  too  well  known  and 
recognized  for  us  for  a  moment  to  doubt  his 
veracity.  Though  his  opinions  upon  religion, 
politics,  and  natural  history  may  have  met  with 
many  opponents,  his  truthfulness,  save  in  this 
one*  case,  has  never  been  impeached. 

That  Dr.  Bachman,  at  the  age  of  sixty -five, 
should  willfully  and  maliciously  prepare  and 
publish  a  series  of  falsehoods,  is  an  opinion  not 
for  one  moment  to  be  entertained.  The  length 
of  time  which  elapsed  between  the  experiments 
and  the  publication  of  the  paper  in  which  they 
are  described,  has  been  urged  as  an  argument 
against  the  possibility  of  their  having  been  per- 
formed. This  is  readily  answered  by  the  fact 
that  Dr.  Bachman  makes  no  claim  to  the  inven- 
tion of  the  process.  A  full  account  of  Jacobi'a 
experiments  and  their  result  was  published  in 
1773  in  Duhamel  du  Monceau's  "Traite  general 
des  Peches,"  a  work  to  which  young  Bachman 
had,  most  probably,  access.  And  we  therefore 
see  in  this  school-boy  experiment  the  early  dawn- 
ing of  that  love  for  scientific  research  which  in 
riper  years  rendered  him  famous. 

Between  the  years  1804  and  1844,  experimental 
pisciculture  was  frequently  practiced  both  by. 

*  Garlick's  "Fish  Culture,"  1858,  p.  135. 


HISTORY  OF  FISH   CULTURE.  17 

amateurs  and  savans,  and  numbers  of  facts  as- 
certained which  upon  the  revival  of  the  science 
proved  of  the  greatest  value  and  importance.  In 
1820,  Messrs.  Hivert  and  Pilachon,  after  much 
trouble,  succeeded  in  hatching  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  trout  to  stock  a  small  stream  in  the  south 
of  France.  The  eggs  used  in  the  microscopical 
examination  of  the  development  of  the  embryo,  by 
Messrs.  Vogt  and  Agassiz,  were  also  obtained  in 
this  manner.  But  claim  to  the  re-establishment 
of  pisciculture  as  a  science  must  be  awarded  to 
Joseph  Eemy  of  France.  Kemy  was  a  fisherman 
who  gained  his  livelihood  by  the  capture  of  trout 
in  the  streams  of  the  Yosges  Mountains,  dividing 
Alsatia  and  Lorraine,  those  two  countries  which, 
from  time  to  time,  alternately  appear  on  and  dis- 
appear from  the  maps  of  France  and  Germany. 
He  had  noticed  with  regret  the  rapid  disappear-" 
ance  of  his  favorite  fishes,  and  being,  though  un- 
educated and  ignorant,  active,  energetic,  and  per- 
severing, devoted  himself  for  several  years  to  the 
study  of  their  habits,  especially  during  the  spawn- 
ing season.  The  excessive  drought  during  the 
summer  and  autumn  of  1842  favored  his  inves- 
tigations. It  was,  of  course,  impossible  for  one 
man  to  keep  a  constant  eye  upon  a  school  of 
fishes ;  nature  would  demand  rest ;  Remy  there- 
fore associated  with  him  a  tavern-keeper  (auber- 


18  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

giste)  named  Gehin,  who  alternated  with  him  in 
his  observations.      So  earnestly  were  these  pur- 
sued, that  in  one  instance,  during  the  full  of  the 
moon,  a  school  of  trout  were  kept  constantly  in 
view  during  four  consecutive  days  and  nights. 
The  result  was  the  rediscovery  of  the  process  of 
Jacobi,  which  they  at  once  put  into  successful 
practice ;  for  four  years  it  was  kept  secret,  as 
even  if  desirous  of  so  doing,  neither  of  the  op- 
erators were  able  to  prepare  an  account  of  their 
work  for  the  public  use  ;  but  in  1848  Dr.  Haxo, 
of   Epinal,   visited    their   establishment,   and  at 
once  recognized  the  value  of  their  labors.     Re- 
ports were  immediately  prepared   by  him  and 
forwarded  to  the  Government  and  French  Acad- 
emy ;  by  both  were  they  received  with  favor.     A 
commission  of  savans,  headed  by  Mr.  Coste,  Pro- 
fessor of  Embryology  in  the  College  of  France, 
visited  the  fish  farm  of  the  Yosges,  and  reported 
upon    it  favorably.     Remy  became    at    once    a 
celebrity;  he  was  invited  to  Paris,  and  the  fish- 
erman, but  a  few  months  previous  utterly  un- 
known, was  an  honored  guest  at  the  table  of  the 
President  of  the    then    Republic.     Work    after 
work  was  written  ;  report  upon  report  issued.     A 
violent  war  of  words  arose  between  Dr.  Haxo 
and  Prof.   Coste  in   regard  to  the  question  of 
Remy  versus  Jacobi,  the  whole  resulting  finally 


HISTOEY  OF  FISH  CULTURE.  19 

in  the  establishment  of  the  French  Governmental 
fish  farm  at  Huningue,  in  1851. 

In  1853,  Dr.  F.  Garlick  and  Prof.  H.  A.  Ackley 
succeeded,  after  great  labor  and  expense,  in  es- 
tablishing a  small  fish  farm  near  Cleveland,  O. 
The  primary  result  of  this  was  the  hatching  of  a 
few  trout ;  the  secondary,  the  appearance  of  a 
work  entitled  "  A  Treatise  on  the  Artificial  Prop- 
agation of  Fish,"  a  work  at  the  present  day  far 
more  curious  than  valuable.  In  1859,  Mr.  Ste- 
phen H.  Ainsworth,  of  West  Bloomfield,  N.  Y., 
commenced  his  experiments  ;  from  the  paucity  of 
his  supply  of  water,  it  was  impossible  for  him  to 
enter  upon  fish  culture  as  a  business  ;  but  as  an 
experimenter,  he  has  perhaps  done  as  much  if 
not  more  for  the  advancement  of  American  trout 
culture  than  any  other  person.  He  has  made 
numerous  inventions,  among  which  his  SPAWNING 
RACE  stands  pre-eminent.  The  following  letter, 
received  some  time  since,  will  explain  his  charac- 
ter as  a  man  and  a  pisciculturist  better  than 
pages  of  eulogy : 

WEST  BLOOMFIELD,  K  Y.,  Oct.  20.    - 

DEAR  SIR — The  spawning  race  you  refer  to  is 

not  patented,  nor  will  be  with  my  knowledge,  and 

consent.     I  have  done  all  I  well  could  for  eleven 

years  to  improve  the  cultivation  of  trout  for  the 


20  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

"benefit  of  mankind,  not  for  my  own  profit. 
Should  this  race  prove  to  be  the  best  method  of 
impregnating  and  saving  the  spawn  to  produce 
healthy  trout,  without  mortality  soon  after  they 
commence  to  feed,  it  will  be  the  great  object 
sought  for,  and  make  trout-breeding  certain. 
But  time  and  experience  will  test  this. 
Respectfully,  yours, 

STEPHEN  H.  AINSWORTH. 

Among  the  frequent  visitors  to  Mr.  Ainsworth'  s 
fish  farm  was  Seth  Green,  whose  name  is  now 
known  and  honored  by  every  angler  and  epicure 
throughout  our  land.  For  years  he  had  been 
studying  the  problem  of  fish  culture,  and  had, 
like  Remy,  spent  days  and  nights  in  observing 
the  habits  of  fishes.  In  1864  the  well-known 
Mumford  establishment  was  originated  by  Mr. 
Green,  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  impreg- 
nated spawn  annually  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the 
United  States.  The  great  problem  was  solved, 
and  for  the  first  time  in  America  fish  culture  was 
made  a  pecuniary  success.  Trout  were  hatched 
by  thousands,  but  as  a  representative  American, 
Seth  was  not  satisfied :  the  production  of  millions 
alone  would  content  him.  Our  shad  were  rapidly 
diminishing  in  numbers  and  decreasing  in  size ; 
his  desire  was  to  restore  them  to  our  depleted 


HISTOEY  OF  FISH  CULTUEE.  21 

streams.  This  was  the  task  to  which  he  "bent  all 
his  energies.  The  difficulties  he  encountered  are 
too  well  known  to  be  repeated ;  but  at  length  his 
hour  of  triumph  came  :  the  shad  hatching-box, 
beautiful  in  its  simplicity,  was  invented.  The 
Connecticut  River  was  replenished  with  shad, 
thousands  were  captured  at  one  sweep  of  the 
seine  where  hundreds  had  been  taken  but  the 
previous  year,  and  fish  culture  had  become  a 
matter  of  national  importance. 

Such  is  a  slight  sketch,  which  we  hope  may 
not  prove  uninteresting,  of  the  rise  and  progress 
of  our  art ;  step  by  step  has  it  advanced  from 
2,100  B.C.  to  1872,  but  who  can  prophesy  its  fu- 
ture ?  In  1864  there  was  but  one  fish  farm  in  the 
United  States  ;  in  less  than  eight  years  they  are 
counted  by  hundreds.  Success  is  within  the  reach 
of  all — may  all  achieve  it ! 


22  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 


CHAPTER  II. 

CHOOSING  A  LOCATION. 

THAT  the  choice  of  a  location  for  a  fish  farm  is 
a  matter  of  vital  importance  to  the  pisciculturist, 
is  self-evident.  The  statement  that  any  farmer 
who  has  a  spring  upon  his  place  can  at  once  enter 
upon  the  business  at  little  cost  of  time  and  money 
is,  as  experiment  has  too  often  proved,  scarcely 
correct.  We  have  examined  hundreds  of  streams 
and  springs  in  various  parts  of  our  own  and  ad- 
jacent States,  and  though  a  few  have  "been  found 
to  combine  all  the  necessary  requirements,  many, 
from  causes  hereafter  to  be  mentioned,  were  totally 
unfitted  for  the  purpose.  The  requisites  for  a  per- 
fect trout  farm  are : 

• 

1.  An  ample  and  constant  supply  of  pure,  cold 
water. 

2.  Sufficient  fall  for  the  construction  of  ponds 
and  race-ways. 

3.  Protection  from  surface  water. 

4.  Proper  material  for  the  construction  of  banks. 
That  an  ample  and  constant  supply  of  pure, 


CHOOSING  A  LOCATION.  23 

cold  water  is  absolutely  necessary,  must  "be  ap- 
parent to  all.  For  judging  this,  the  only  proper 
time  is  during  midsummer,  when  the  supply  is  at 
its  minimum  and  the  temperature  at  its  maxi- 
mum. Try  the  water  with  a  good  thermometer 
(not  one  of  those  twenty-five  cent  abominations 
with  which  the  energy  of  peddlers  have  stocked 
the  country),  and  if  the  temperature  is  above  65°, 
though  in  the  air  it  may  be  among  the  nineties,  it 
is  unfit  for  fish  culture.  It  is  true  that  trout  will 
thrive  even  at  a  temperature  some  five  degrees 
higher,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  water, 
in  passing  through  the  ponds  during  the  summer 
season,  has  a  most  unpleasant  habit  of  becoming 
hotter  and  hotter,  and  while  spring  head  is  at  60° 
lowest  pond  may  be  some  ten  degrees  higher. 
Again,  we  have  found  from  careful  research  that 
the  lower  the  temperature  of  the  water  to  which 
the  spawn  are  subjected  during  incubation,  the 
more  healthy  the  little  fishes  are  likely  to  be ;  we 
say  temperature  of  the  water,  for  below  32°  of 
course  ice  is  formed,  which  is  in  most  cases  fatal 
to  the  vitality  of  the  egg.  The  springs  by  which 
the  hatching-houses  of  our  most  successful  estab- 
lishments are  supplied,  range  from  47°  to  55°.  It 
is  true  that  by  a  low  temperature  the  time  of  incu- 
bation is  lengthened,  but  this  is  a  matter  of  little 
importance  ;  again,  with  increased  temperature 


24        PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

comes  increased  danger :  the  fungoid  growths 
which,  in  spite  of  all  our  care,  will  sometimes 
appear  in  our  hatching-trays  or  rearing-boxes,  are 
too  often  evidence  of  a  too  elevated  temperature. 
Attempts  made  to  keep  down  the  temperature  by 
passing  the  water  through  a  refrigerator  filled  with 
ice  have  thus  far  failed,  even  when  the  experiment 
has  been  performed  upon  a  very  small  scale. 
Other  fish  may  be  hatched  at  a  much  higher  tem- 
perature ;  shad  eggs  not  coming  to  maturity  below 
70°,  and  gold  fish  have  been  bred  even  when  the 
thermometer  stood  over  a  hundred  ;  but  trout  are 
a  peculiar  fish,  and  55°  is  the  highest  at  which 
their  spawn  will  produce  vigorous  and  healthy 
young.  The  question  is  often  asked :  given  the 
capacity  and  temperature  of  the  water  supply, 
what  amount  of  trout  will  it  support  ?  To  an- 
swer this  we  sought  diligently  the  pages  of  all 
authorities  upon  fish  culture,  but  in  none  of  them 
was  the  subject  even  mentioned.  Inquiry  was 
made  of  those  who  were  supposed  to  be  thoroughly 
posted  in  every  branch  of  the  art,  but  no  informa- 
tion could  be  obtained.  We  at  once  entered  upon 
a  course  of  experiments,  resulting  in  proving  that 
for  each  gallon  of  water  per  minute  at  the  temper- 
ature of  50°  degrees,  ten  pounds  of  trout  can  be 
sustained  ;  thus  the  Troutdale  spring  delivers  a 
volume  of  water  which  at  the  dryest  season  has 


CHOOSING  A  LOCATION.  25 

been  proved  by  repeated  experiments  to  measure 
twelve  hundred  and  fifty  gallons  per  minute ;  as 
each  gallon  will  support  ten  pounds  of  trout, 
twelve  thousand  five  hundred  pounds  weight  can 
be  sustained  by  the  water  of  our  spring.  When 
sufficient  fall  can  be  obtained,  by  proper  aeration 
the  capacity  of  the  water  may  be  still  greater  in- 
creased. 

Many  rules,  most  of  them  involving  abstruse 
mathematical  calculations,  have  been  given  for 
ascertaining  the  number  of  gallons  delivered  by 
a  stream  per  minute.  The  following,  however,  we 
have  found  to  be  the  most  simple  and  sufficiently 
correct  for  all  practical  purposes.  Measure  the 
width  and  depth  of  the  stream  where  for  a  short 
distance  the  banks  are  nearly  parallel  and  the 
depth  nearly  uniform ;  between  these  parallel 
banks  throw  a  chip  or  cork  into  the  water,  and 
note  the  distance  it  drifts  during  a  quarter  of  a 
minute ;  multiply  the  product  of  the  depth  and 
width  of  the  stream  by  the  distance  traversed  by 
the  chip  or  cork,  and  the  product,  when  dimin- 
ished by  one-fifth,  will  give  the  number  of  cubic 
feet  delivered  in  a  quarter  of  a  minute.  The  one- 
fifth  must  be  deducted,  as  the  rapidity  of  the 
flow  on  the  surface  is  greater  than  at  the  bottom 
of  the  stream.  Thus,  suppose  the  depth  of  the 
stream  to  be  two  feet  and  its  width  four,  and  that 

2 


26  PRACTICAL   TEOUT   CULTURE. 

the  chip  has  traveled  ten  feet  in  one  quarter  of  a 
minute.  Twice  four  are  eight ;  this  multiplied  by 
ten,  the  distance  traversed,  will  give  eighty,  from 
which  deduct  one-fifth  (1C),  and  we  have  sixty- 
four  cubic  feet  as  the  amount  delivered  in  a 
quarter  of  a  minute,  or  two  hundred  and  fifty-six 
per  minute.  Now,  as  a  cubic  foot  of  water  con- 
tains about  six  and  a  quarter  gallons,  we  multiply 
the  number  of  cubic  feet  (256)  by  six  and  a  quar- 
ter, and  the  result  (1,599)  will  be  the  number  of 
gallons  furnished  per  minute  by  the  stream.  The 
accuracy  of  the  result  of  this  method  of  measure- 
ment will  depend,  of  course,  upon  the  parallelism 
of  the  banks  and  the  uniformity  of  the  depth  of 
the  portion  of  the  stream  over  which  the  chip  lias 
floated.  When  the  water  passes  through  a  rect- 
angular trough,  the  result  will  be  found  to  be 
almost  absolutely  correct. 

The  necessity  of  a  sufficient  fall  for  the  proper 
arrangement  of  ponds,  race-ways,  and  buildings 
is  absolute  ;  in  fact,  the  maintenance  of  the  proper 
temperature  depends  greatly  on  the  rapidity  with 
which  the  water  flows  through  the  ponds, — a  slow, 
sluggish  stream  becoming  rapidly  heated,  while 
a  rapid  current  may  pass  over  a  comparatively 
long  distance  without  the  water  becoming  percep- 
tibly warmer.  The  rapid-running  mountain  brook 
is  the  home  of  the  trout ;  and  this  should  be  imi- 


.     CHOOSING  A  LOCATION.  27 

• 

tated  as  closely  as  possible.  Four  feet  is  the  least 
fall  which  will  render  the  ground  suitable  for  the 
construction  of  trout  ponds. 

From  the  influx  of  surface-water  more  loss  has 
probably  been  sustained  by  pisciculturists  than 
from  any  other  cause.  "My  banks  have  been 
again  carried  away  by  a  freshet,"  is  the  cry  of  too 
many  sufferers,  and  no  accident  is  more  difficult 
to  prevent  than  this.  All  streams  are  liable  to 
freshets  ;  and  for  this  reason,  as  well  as  others  to 
be  mentioned  in  a  succeeding  chapter,  a  spring 
supply  is  greatly  to  be  preferred.  A  properly- 
constructed  trout  pond  should  not  become  muddy 
during  the  heaviest  rain  storm.  By  a  proper 
system  of  ditching,  or  the  construction  of  guard 
banks,  in  many  locations  the  surface  water  can 
be  kept  out ;  but  too  frequently  the  lay  of  the 
ground  renders  it  impossible  to  construct  them 
without  great  expense,. and  sites  which  possess  all 
other  advantages  are  unavailable  for  trout  ponds. 
The  best  tuaterial  for  the  construction  of  pond 
banks  is,  beyond  all  doubt,  clay ;  but  this  is  not 
always  to  be  met  with.  Much  labor  and  expense, 
however,  is  saved  if  it  is  found  upon  the  spot, 
though  good  banks  can  and  have  been  made  with 
other  material.  Yet  in  case  several  locations, 
otherwise  similar,  being  offered  to  the  seeker  for  a 
pond  site,  it  would  be  well  to  investigate  the  na- 


28  PEACTICAL  TROUT  CULTUBE. 

ture  of  the  surrounding  soil,  and  choose  that  upon 
which  earth  is  found  most  suitable  for  bank  con- 
struction. Sandy  loam  or  gravel  will,  with  proper 
care  and  expenditure,  form  good  banks,  but  clay 
is  far  preferable.  It  may  here  be  suggested  that 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  a  large  town  is  to  be 
avoided,  as  the  roughs,  that  class  of  population  to 
be  found  in  every  city,  have  a  fondness  for  trout ; 
and  a  nocturnal  visit  from  individuals  of  this 
stamp  is  generally  attended  by  results  far  from 
pleasant.  In  fact,  the  stealing  of  trout  from  a 
private  pond  is  too  frequently  regarded  by  even 
the  so-called  better  classes  as  a  venial  offense.  In 
many  of  our  States  it  is  considered  in  law  only 
as  a  trespass  ;  and  many  have  been  deterred 
from  engaging  in  fish-farming  from  want  of  proper 
protection  for  their  crop ;  but  unfortunately  no 
distinction  is  made  between  fishes  reared  with 
much  labor  and  expense  and. the  wild  denizens 
of  the  mountain  brook,  all,  wherever  found,  being 
regarded  as  f era,  and  their  captors  being  liable 
only  to  a  small  fine  and  the  market  value  of  the 
fishes  taken  ;  in  fact,  Mr.  Ward,  of  Mumford, 
N.  Y.,  was  obliged  to  suffer  an  imprisonment  in 
the  county  jail,  a  few  years  since,  for  peppering 
with  shot  the  carcass  of  a  scoundrel  whom  he 
detected  in  the  act  of  stealing  his  fishes.  Ca'n 
it,  therefore,  be  considered  strange  that  a  large 


CHOOSING  A  LOCATION.  29 

percentage  of  the  trout  sold  in  the  New  York 
market  bear  upon  them,  in  the  marks  of  the  gill 
nets  in  which  they  were  taken,  silent  proofs  of  the 
necessity  of  more  stringent  legislation  ?  It  is  ad- 
visable that  the  ponds  should  be  so  located  as  to 
be  in  full  view  of  the  residence  of  the  proprietor, 
and  a  good  dog,  or,  better  still,  a  pair,  will  gen- 
erally give  notice  of  the  approach  of  a  nocturnal 
visitor.  We  have  no  doubt  but  that  the  voices 
of  our  faithful  bloodhounds  Nero  and  Flora  have 
frequently  prevented  the  visits  of  poachers  to  our 
ponds. 

Such  are  the  points  to  be  examined  in  selecting 
a  location  for  a  future  fish  farm ;  and  should  a 
situation  be  found  combining  all  these  necessary 
qualifications,  nature  has  done  her  part,  and  now 
the  work  of  human  hands  must  commence. 


30        PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 


CHAPTER  III. 

PLANNING  AND  CONSTRUCTION  OF  PONDS. 

THE  site  being  procured,  the  next  step  is  the 
planning  of  the  ponds,  a  matter  of  no  small 
trouble  and  care.  One  wrong  step  at  the  com- 
mencement may  entail  constant  perplexity  and 
even  disaster.  It  is  easy  for  an  expert  to  plan 
and  construct,  but  for  a  tyro  it  is  a  matter  of  no 
small  difficulty,  and  the  few  dollars  paid  at  the 
outset  to  a  competent  piscicultural  engineer  may 
save  in  the  end  thousands.  The  plan  must,  of 
course,  vary  with  the  nature  of  the  ground ;  in 
fact  it  would  scarcely  be  possible  to  construct  two 
in  different  locations  precisely  alike,  but  the  fol- 
lowing directions  are  applicable  to  all  cases. 

Three  ponds  at  least  are  always  required  con- 
nected by  race-ways  never  less  than  fifteen  feet  in 
length.  In  these  race-ways  the  spawning  races 
are  to  be  placed ;  or  if  the  spawn  is  to  be  taken 
by  hand  they  must  be  prepared  so  as  to  entice  the 
iishes  into  them  when  ready  to  give  up  their  eggs. 
Unless  the  water  supply  is  very  scant,  the  full 
current  must  not  be  allowed  to  pass  through  the 


CONSTRUCTION  OF  PONDS.  31 

pond  in  which  the  youngest  fishes  are  to  be  placed. 
Each  pond  should,  if  possible,  be  so  arranged 
that  it  may  be  drawn  entirely  off  without  affecting 
the  remaining  ponds.  The  shape  of  the  ponds  is 
a  matter  of  importance.  For  ornamental  pleasure 
grounds  the  circle  or  elipse  may  suit,  but  for  work- 
ing ponds  the  form  should  be  always  oblong,  and 
the  width  no  greater  than  twenty-five  feet.  This 
will  allow  the  ready  removal  of  dead  fish  or  any 
filth  which  may  accumulate  upon  the  bottom, 
which  it  would  be  impossible  to  reach  were  the 
pond  of  a  circular  or  even  oblong  form.  Should 
the  formation  of  the  ground  permit,  the  ponds 
should  be  placed  parallel  to  each  other,  and  not, 
as  is  too  frequently  the  case,  strung  along  like 
beads  upon  a  string.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
the  hardest  work  of  the  fish-farmer  occurs  in  the 
coldest  season  of  the  year,  and  the  whole  works 
should  be  arranged  as  compactly  as  possible,  that 
every  unnecessary  step  may  be  avoided.  A  full 
suite  of  ponds  need  not  occupy  a  space  of  over 
two  hundred  and  fifty  by  one  hundred  feet. 

As  an  example  of  a  complete  system  of  ponds, 
we  present  on  the  following  page  a  diagram  show- 
ing the  arrangement  of  our  works  at  Troutdale, 
near  Bloomsbury,  N.  J.,  the  compactness  and 
convenience  of  which  we  think  can  scarce  be  ex- 
celled. The  original  plan,  which,  however,  we 


32  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

have  greatly  modified,  was  devised  by  Mr.  Thad- 
deus  Norris,  of  whom  we  purchased  the  place  in 
1867.  At  the  time  of  purchase,  pond  No.  1  only 
was  completed,  though  work  upon  the  banks  of 
the  other  ponds  had  been  commenced.  Four  years 
have  we  been  engaged  in  perfecting  them,  and  it 
is  only  within  the  past  season  that  our  improve- 
ments have  been  entirely  completed. 


Fio.  1. 

The  spring  (marked  S  on  the  plan)  from  which 
all  the  water  is  obtained  is  of  a  capacity  of  about 
twelve  hundred  gallons  per  minute,  constant  in 
quantity,  throughout  the  entire  year.  The  tem- 
perature of  the  water  is  50° ;  never  varying  more 
than  one  degree  in  the  heat  of  summer  or  depth 


CONSTRUCTION  OF  PONDS.  33 

of  winter.  Analysis  shows  it  to  contain  carbon- 
ate of  lime,  alumina,  and  iron  in  small  quantities, 
with  a  small  amount  of  free  carbonic-acid.  Pass- 
ing down  a  race-way  (a)  fifty -five  feet  long, 
four  wide,  and  six  inches  deep,  the  water  enters 
pond  No.  1 ;  and,  following  the  course  of  the 
arrows,  passes  successively  through  1,  2,  and  3, 
and  is  discharged  at  the  point  I  into  No.  4.  This 
pond  is  not  used  for  fishes,  but  for  the  culture  of 
water-cress,  an  article  which  finds  a  ready  sale  in 
the  New  York  market.  At  the  points  marked  x 
are  sluice-gates,  at  which  are  placed  screens  of 
wire  gauze.  These  screens  are  arranged  in  pairs, 
and  each  performs  a  separate  duty — the  upper 
arresting  all  leaves,  sticks,  or  other  floating  trash 
which  may  find  its  way  into  the  ponds,  and  the 
lower  preventing  the  mixture  of  fishes  of  different 
ages. 

When  the  young  fishes  are  first  placed  in  No.  1, 
were  the  whole  curront  of  the  stream  allowed  to 
pass  through  they  would  be  washed  against  the 
lower  screen  and  perish ;  but  by  means  of  the  cross 
race  (c)  the  amount  of  water  supply  can  be  regu- 
lated to  a  nicety.  -The  hatching-house  (H)  for- 
merly occupied  the  site  of  the  gold-fish  pond  (5), 
and  was  supplied  with  water  from  the  spring  by 
pipes,  but  some  two  years  since  was  removed  to 
its  present  and  more  convenient  location.  At  G 

2* 


34  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

a  small  branch  from  the  spring  supplies  the  water 
by  which  the  machinery  in  the  meat-house  (M), 
used  for  preparing  the  fish  food,  is  put  in  motion  ; 
the  waste  water  then  passes  to  the  bass  pond  (6), 
in  which  experiments  upon  the  breeding  of  the 
black  bass  are  to  be  prosecuted  during  the  coming 
summer.  At  D  is  the  house  of  the  superintend- 
ent, while  the  residence  of  the  proprietor  over- 
looks the  whole.  The  dimensions  of  the  principal 
ponds  are : 

No.  1, 150  by  15  feet 

No.  2, 150  by  18  feet 

No.  3, 185  long,  and  varying  from  20  to  35  feet  in  width. 
Depth:  No.  1,  one  to  two  feet;  No.  2,  two  to  four  feet;  No.  8, 
three  to  five  feet 

In  cases  where  ponds  are  constructed  in  the 
direct  course  of  a  stream,  the  pond  for  the*  small 
fry  should  be  placed  on  one  side  and  connected 
with  the  main  channel  by  a  race  with  a  sluice- 
gate at  its  opening,  by  which  the  supply  of  water 
may  be  regulated.  Fig.  2  represents  a  series  of 


Fio.  2. 


ponds  planned  by  us  in  1869,  and  now  in  success- 
ful operation.     The  dotted  lines  indicate  the  origi 


CONSTRUCTION   OF   PONDS.  35 

nal  course  of  the  stream.  At  the  points  A  and 
B  dams  were  erected  and  the  earth  removed,  form- 
ing ponds  Nos.  2  and  3.  Pond  No.  1  is  exca- 
vated upon  the  right  bank  and  connected  with 
the  main  stream  by  the  race  a;  b  serves  both 
as  an  outlet  for  No.  1  and  a  spawning  race  for 
No.  2.  Sluice-gates  (marked  x\  with  screens,  are 
placed  at  proper  points.  We  might  go  on  add- 
ing plan  to  plan,  ad  infinitum,  having  in  our 
portfolios  dozens  which  we  have  either  designed, 
or  drawn  from  other  sources;  but  we  hope  that 
the  two  presented  will  afford  our  readers  a  gen- 
eral idea,  which  is  all  that  can  be  expected  in  a 
work  of  the  present  size. 

The  plan  of  the  ponds  having  been  decided 
upon,  the  proportionate  size  of  the  banks  re- 
quired to  retain  the  water  will  next  occupy  the 
attention  of  the  projector. 

This  is  a  matter  of  more  importance  than  is 
generally  considered.  Moving  earth  is  an  expen- 
sive process,  and  every  cubic  yard  unnecessarily 
transported  is  money  lost  to  the  projector ;  while 
if  not  built  of  the  requisite  strength,  severe  loss  is 
sure  to  follow.  The  proportions  suggested  by  the 
French  engineers,  and  which  we  have  found  in 
every  case  to  be  perfectly  satisfactory,  are  as  fol- 
lows :  the  width  at  base  must  be  three-  times  the 
the  height,  and  the  width  at  top  equal  to  the 


36  PRACTICAL  TROUT   CULTURE. 

height.  Thus,  if  the  height  of  the  embankment 
is  ten  feet,  the  width  at  base  must  be  thirty  feet, 
and  the  width  of  the  top  ten.  These  are  the  pro- 
portions with  ordinary  earth  ;  if  stiff  clay  be  used 
the  thickness  need  not  be  so  great,  and  if  sandy 
loam  or  gravel  only  can  be  obtained  the  width, 
base,  and  top,  must  be  increased.  The  water  line 
should  never  be  nearer  the  top  of  the  bank  than 
one  foot.  Great  damage  is  frequently  done  by  the 
muskrat.  JIe  has  been  accused  of  killing  the  trout. 
This  we  tjiink  to  be  a  mistake  ;  but  his  burrowing 
propensities  we  know  by  sad  experience.  In  local- 
ities where  these  pests  abound  it  is  well  to  build  a 
wall  of  brick,  and  fill  in  each  side  with  earth  to  the 
proper  slope.  The  driving  of  sheet  piles  through 
the  banks  has  been  recommended,  but  the  crea- 
tures seem  rather  to  enjoy  gnawing  their  way 
through  them.  A  wall  of  brick  or  stone,  be  it 
only  but  a  few  inches  in  thickness,  will,  however, 
effectually  keep  them  out.  For  the  same  reason, 
the  race-ways  should  be  lined  with  brick.  As 
soon  as  the  banks  have  settled  they  should  be 
sodded.  Besides  adding  to  their  beauty  this  will 
prevent  them  from  being  washed  and  guttered  by 
the  rains.  If  trees  are  wanted  they  should  be 
planted  at  once.  The  best  tree  for  pond  banks  is 
the  weeping- willow — of  rapid  growth,  sending  out 
roots.  ii}  every  direction,  which  firmly  bind  the 


CONSTRUCTION   OF  PONDS.  37 

banks  together,  the  first  green  tree  in  spring,  and 
the  last  to  shed  its  leaves  in  autumn,  it  is  pecul- 
iarly adapted  for  the  shading  of  fish  ponds. 
The  building  and  proper  setting  of  the  sluice-ways 
require  much  care.  We  are  sorry  to  see  that 
several  new,  and  otherwise  well-appointed  estab- 
lishments have  adopted  a  species  of  concealed 
gate,  a  large  portion  of  which  is  totally  inaccess- 
ible unless  the  water  be  entirely  drawn  off  from  the 
pond.  An  open  gate,  to  every  part  of  which  free 
access  can  be  had  at  all  times,  is  the  only  one  which 
should  find  a  place  at  the  ponds  of  a*  practical 
fish-farmer.  The  best  wood  for  their  construction 
is  well- seasoned  chestnut.  The  frame  should  be  of 
2x2  lumber,  mortised  and  tenoned.  Every  nail 
should  be  dipped  in  oil  before  being  driven,  and 
two  thick  coats  of  paint  applied  to  the  whole 
woodwork  and  allowed  to  become  thoroughly  dry 
before  the  sluice-gate  is  placed  in  position.  It  is 
well  if  the  boards  are  plowed  and  grooved,  but 
this  is  not  absolutely  necessary.  In  setting  in  po- 
sition, level  the  ground  accurately,  place  the  gate 
perfectly  level,  and  behind,  place  across  the  bed  of 
the  stream  a  frame  of  scantling  upon  which  nail 
boards,  forming  a  sheeting,  reaching  from  the  gate 
about  three  feet  up  stream.  On  this  build  the 
wings,  extending  at  an  angle  of  about  45°  to  the 
end  of  the  sheeting.  At  the  front  edge  of  the  gate 


38         PKACTICAL  TKOUT  CULTURE. 

lay  up  a  rough  wall  and  fill  in  with  mud— not 
dry  earth,  nor  even  dampened  earth,  but  liquid 
mud.  Allow  this  to  remain  until  dry,  and  you  will 
have  that  rare  article  upon  trout  farms,  a  perfectly 
tight  sluice-gate.  The  frames  of  the  screens  should 
be  strongly  made  and  mortised.  Of  these  frames 
it  is  well  to  have  an  extra  supply  on  hand,  that  in 
case  of  injury  to  one  it  may  be  at  once  removed 
and  another  substituted.  For  leaf  screens,  galvan- 
ized iron  wires,  No.  9,  should  be  used,  placed  par- 
allel, about  three-quarters  of  an  inch  apart,  witli  a 
transverse  wire  every  four  inches  to  prevent  bend- 
ing and  falling  out.  The  fish  screens  (Fig.  3) 
should  be  made  of  wire  gauze  from  one-eighth  to 


Fio.  8 

five-eighths  of  an  inch  mesh;  the  smaller  sizes 
(say  to  three-eighths)  of  copper  or  brass  ;  the 
larger  may  be  of  iron,  painted  or  galvanized.  If 
kept  well  painted  they  will  last  a  long  time,  even 
under  water.  The  wooden  frames  should  be 
thoroughly  painted,  and  a  japanned  iron  handle 
attached  to  the  top  will  be  found  very  convenient. 
Shade,  which  is  absolutely  necessary  for  trout, 
is  best  furnished  by  trees  which,  as  previously 


CONSTRUCTION  OF  PONDS.  39 

stated,  should  be  planted  as  soon  after  the  com- 
pletion of  the  banks  as  possible  ;  but  while  they 
are  growing,  a  few  boards  nailed  together,  forming 
a  float,  should  be  anchored  in  each  pond.  A  few 
rustic  bridges  will  also  afford  hiding-places  to 
the  fish,  as  well  as  adding  to  the  beauty  of  the 
grounds. 

The  bottom  of  the  first  pond,  or  that  intended 
for  the  fishes  during  the  first  year  of  their  exist- 
ence, may  be  covered  with  gravel,  but  none  should 
be  allowed  in  the  other  ponds.  During  the  spawn- 
ing season  the  adult  fishes  will  seek  gravel  for  the 
purpose  of  depositing  their  ova,  and  should  it  be 
found  by  them  in  the  ponds,  they  will  not  resort 
to  the  race-ways,  and  the  eggs  will  be  lost.  The 
growth  of  aquatic  plants  should  be  encouraged, 
especially  in  the  first  pond,  as  they  perform  a 
triple  service :  first,  they  assist  in  oxygenating  the 
water ;  secondly,  they  give  ample  shade  to  the  lit- 
tle fishes  ;  and  thirdly,  they  afford  refuge  for  myr- 
iads of  minute  insects,  the  natural  food  of  the  young 
trout.  There  is  but  one  objection  to  plants :  they 
are  the  favorite  food  of  the  muskrat ;  and,  during 
the  winter,  when  green  vegetable  food  is  not  every- 
where to  be  met  with,  these  pests  of  the  fish-farmer 
will  be  attracted  by  it,  and,  as  they  cut  off  much 
more  than  they  eat  or  carry  away,  serious  diffi- 
culty may  occur  from  the  clogging  of  the  screens. 


40  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

To  obviate  this,  we  have  for  some  years  past  drawn 
down  the  water  of  our  ponds  about  the  first  of 
October,  and  cut  off  all  plants  with  a  sharp  scythe. 
This  removes  temptation  from  the  muskrats,  and 
favors  the  spreading  of  the  water  plants.  The  best 
for  this  purpose  are  the  hornwort  (ceratophyllum) 
and  water  starwort  (callitricTie). 

A.  number  of  large,  irregular  stones  should  be 
placed  in  the  second  and  third  ponds,  that  the 
fishes,  by  rubbing  against  them,  may  free  them- 
selves from  the  parasites  with  which  they  are  some- 
times infested.  And  if  fears  are  entertained  of  vis- 
its from  midnight  marauders,  a  number  of  stakes 
deeply  driven  into  the  bottoms  of  the  ponds  and 
sawed  off  even  with  the  top  of  the  water  will  effect- 
ually prevent  the  dragging  of  a  seine,  or  the  proper 
(or  improper)  manipulation  of  a  scoop-net 

A  strong  and  high  picket-fence  should  inclose 
all.  The  best  pickets  are  made  of  hemlock,  and 
should  be  at  least  eight  feet  long,  four  inches 
wide,  and  one  and  a  quarter  inches  in  thickness. 
These  must  be  strongly  nailed  to  the  string-pieces, 
which  should  not  be  less  than  4x4  inches.  A 
light  fence,  from  its  liability  to  be  broken,  is  a 
source  of  constant  trouble,  besides  affording  but 
little  protection.  A  good  coat  of  whitewash  every 
two  or  three  years  will  be  all  the  care  required. 


HATCHING-HOUSES  AND  APPARATUS.  41 


CHAPTER  IV. 

HATCHING-HOUSES  AND  APPARATUS. 

THE  hatching-house  is  a  modern  invention.  A 
simple  trough  by  the  side  of  the  stream,  guarded 
by  wire  screens  at  each  end,  having  the  bottom 
covered  with  sand  or  gravel,  and  a  cover  with  lock 
and  key  over  the  whole,  was  the  only  apparatus 
used  by  Pinchon  and  Jacobi ;  Remy  inclosed  his 
spawn  in  perforated  tin  boxes  ;  and  a  champagne 
basket  anchored  in  the  stream  was  frequently  used 
as  a  means  of  hatching  ova  by  the  early  French 
pisciculturists.  The  trough  of  Pinchon  and  Ja- 
cobi is  still  retained  in  some  of  our  largest  Ameri- 
can establishments,  and  was  used  at  Troutdale 
until  1870.  In  our  latitude,  out-door  hatching- 
troughs,  except  on  a  very  small  scale,  are  entirely 
out  of  the  question.  Trout- spawning  takes  place 
during  the  coldest  and  most  inclement  season  of 
the  year,  and  a  covering  is  positively  required — 
even  a  stove  in  the  hatching-house  being  a  luxury 
by  no  means  to  be  despised.  Three  styles  of 
hatching  apparatus  are  now  in  use  :  the  trough,  the 
Coste  (or,  more  properly,  Caron)  arrangement,  and 


42  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

a  combination  of  the  two.  The  cut  on  the  oppo- 
site page,  representing  the  Trontdale  hatching- 
house,  in  1868,  will  show  the  trough  arrangement. 

In  the  floor  are  set  two  double  rows  of  wooden 
troughs,  thirty  feet  long  by  eighteen  inches  wide 
and  four  inches  deep  ;  these  are  each  subdivided 
by  cross-pieces  of  wood  into  twenty  compartments, 
18x18  inches,  the  bottoms  of  these  divisions  be- 
ing covered  to  the  depth  of  about  an  inch  with 
fine  white  gravel,  and  a  gentle  current  of  wattT 
allowed  to  flow  through  them,  the  water  being 
carefully  filtered.  In  fact,  no  unfiltered  water 
should  be  allowed  to  enter  any  hatching-house ; 
not  only  so-called  dirt  (which  has  been  prop- 
erly defined  as  misplaced  matter)  will  enter,  but 
also  the  larvae  of  insects,  many  species  of  which 
destroy  the  spawn  with  tremendous  rapidity.  At 
Stormonfield,  Scotland,  over  seventy  thousand 
salmon  eggs  were  lost  in  one  season  from  this 
cause. 

When,  from  the  location,  it  is  possible,  it  is  well 
to  have  the  troughs  raised  breast-high,  that  in  ex- 
amining the  spawn  and  removing  the  dead  a  back- 
breaking  position  may  be  avoided.  This,  in  our 
old  hatching-house,  was  unfortunately  impossible 
—the  fall  from  the  spring  to  the  level  of  the  floor 
being  but  a  few  inches.  Short  troughs  have  been 
much  lauded  by  writers,  but  after  careful  experi- 


HATCHING-HOUSES  AND  APPARATUS.  43 


44        PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

ment  we  found  that  the  spawn  deposited  in  the 
lowest  division  of  the  trough  did  equally  as  well 
as  those  in  the  highest. 

From  our  first  season  we  were  dissatisfied  with 
troughs.  Spite  of  all  our  care,  dirt  would  find 
its  way  into  them,  and,  lying  concealed  amid  the 
gravel,  seriously  affect,  by  its  putrefaction,  the 
health  of  the  spawn  or  young  fishes ;  the  gravel 
being  white,  dead  ova  would  too  frequently  escape 
observation,  and,  as  will  hereafter  be  explained, 
destroy  large  numbers  of  eggs  before  their  pres- 
ence could  be  detected.  Spawn  would  die  buried 
in  the  gravel,  and  at  the  time  of  the  emergency  of 
the  young  fish  from  the  egg,  a  period  when  per- 
fect cleanliness  was  most  especially  required,  the 
amount  of  filth  in  the  troughs  would  be  greatest. 
Again,  upon  the  wood  a  thick,  gelatinous  sub- 
stance would  appear,  slimy  to  the  touch  and  dis- 
gusting to  the  eye,  and  which  no  precaution  on 
our  part  could  prevent,  though  we  have  since 
learned  that  covering  the  entire  inside  surface 
with  window-glass,  bedded  in  pitch,  has  been 
practiced  with  success.  The  difficulty  of  remov- 
ing spawn  for  supplying  customers  was  great,  and, 
from  being  buried  in  the  damp  earth,  the  wood 
rotted  rapidly,  requiring  frequent  repairs.  We 
were  delighted  on  reading  of  the  small  hatching- 
trays  invented  by  Mr.  Caron,  of  France,  though 


HATCHING-HOUSES   AND   APPARATUS.  45 

erroneously  attributed  to  M.  Coste,  Professor  of 
Embryology  in  the  College  of  France,  the  latter 
gentlemen  having  only  used  it  in  connection  with 
his  well-known  experiments.  It  appeared  to  us 
to  afford  every  facility  for  examining,  handling, 
and  keeping  clean  the  spawn.  As  its  use,  on  a 
large  scale,  would  necessitate  the  changing  of 
the  site  of  our  hatching-house  and  involve  con- 
siderable expense,  we  commenced  upon  a  small 
scale,  but  the  results  being  perfectly  satisfactory, 
we,  in  1870,  rebuilt  our  hatching-house  in  a  new 


Fio.  5. 

location,  using  only  the  trays ;  and  have  never 
regretted  the  change,  considering  that,  at  least, 
one-half  of  the  manual  labor  is  saved  by  their 
use.  A  pair  properly  arranged  is  represented  by 
Fig.  5.  The  box,  or  body  of  the  tray  (A),  is  of 
galvanized  iron,  about  No.  29  guage  ;  it  measures 


46         PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURK. 

twenty  inches  in  length,  six  inches  in  width,  and 
three  in  depth  ;  at  each  corner  is  soldered,  one  and 
a  half  inches  from  the  top,  a  triangular  piece  of 
galvanized  iron,  upon  which  the  grille  or  frame 
rests ;  a  spout  is  placed  near  one  corner,  and  a 
tube  for  drawing  out  the  contents,  when  necessary, 
is  attached  to  one  end.  This,  when  the  tray  is  in 
use,  is  closed  with  a  cork. 


Fio.  6. 

Fig.  6  represents  a  section  of  the  metallic  por- 
tion of  the  tray,  A  the  spout,  B,  B,  B,  B  the  triangu- 
lar corner-pieces  upon  which  the  grille  rests,  and 
c  the  drainage  tube.  The  grille  (Fig.  6,  B,  B,) 
is  composed  of  glass  tubes,  from  T3y  to  ^  of  an 
inch  in  diameter,  inclostd  in  a  frame  of  black  wal- 
nut, measuring,  inside,  exactly  eighteen  and  a 
half  by  four  and  a  half  inches.  This  exact  length 
was  chosen  as  it  will  include,  on  an  average,  one 
hundred  eggs,  and  thus  the  amount  taken  may 
be  readily  estimated.  The  width  was  chosen, 
after  consultation  with  a  tinman,  that  there  need 
be  no  waste  in  cutting  the  material — a  point  of  no 
small  pecuniary  importance,  when  large  numbers 
are  to  be  manufactured.  The  tubes  are  lightly  yet 
firmly  bound  together  by  copper  wire,  which 


HATCHING-HOUSES  AND   APPARATUS.  47 

allows  slight,  lateral  motion  if  required,  and  bind- 
ing them  together  allows  a  shock  to  "be  distributed 
over  the  entire  set.  The  force  of  a  blow  which 
would  cause  breakage  of  a  single  tube  is  thus 
divided  over  a  number,  and  they  escape  un- 
harmed. The  ends  of  the  frame  are  fastened  with 
screws,  and,  should  any  of  the  glasses  become 
broken,  they  may  be  readily  removed  and  others 
substituted.  A  single  tray,  or,  at  most,  a  pair, 
are  all  that  are  required  for  experimental  pur- 
poses ;  they  may  be  supplied  with  water  from  any 
bath-room,  and  have,  as  an  adjunct  to  the  aqua- 
rium, met  with  great  favor  from  persons  interested 
in  natural  history  or  physiology  The  shell  of  the 
egg  being  transparent,  the  young,  at  all  periods 
of  its  development,  is  plainly  seen.  We  were,  as 
far  as  we  can  ascertain,  the  first  to  introduce  this 
beautiful  piece  of  fish  apparatus  into  America, 
and  met  with  some  opposition  from  those  who 
were  wedded  to  their  gravel  troughs.  We  desired 
to  select  a  location  as  unfavorable  as  possible  for 
fish-hatching,  and  finally  decided  upon  the  lect- 
ure-table in  the  laboratory  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  during  the  height  of  the  lecture 
Reason ;  yet,  amid  this  atmosphere,  contaminated 
by  all  the  noxious  gases  which  the  ingenuity  of 
man  can  eliminate,  many  of  which  are  highly  sol- 
uable  in  water,  exposed  to  great  variations  of  tern- 


48 


PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 


perature,  and  to  the  constant  vibration  caused  by 
the  arrival  and  departure  of  hundreds  of  students, 
ninety  per  cent,  of  spawn  deposited  on  the  grille, 
as  soon  as  the  eyespecks  could  be  distinguished, 
hatched.  To  Prof.  Rodgers  we  would  here  return 
our  thanks  for  his  kindness  in  allowing  us  to 
perform  this  experiment.  Where  several  boxes 


Fio.  7." 

are  nsed  they  are  arranged  in  flights,  the  spouts 
being  alternately  right  and  left.  The  above 
engraving  (Fig.  7)  represents  what  is  called  the 
single  flight.  The  quantity  of  water  represented 
by  the  artist  as  rushing  through  the  boxes  and 


HATCHING-HOUSES   AND   APPARATUS. 


49 


falling  in  a  graceful  parabolic  curve  to  the  floor, 
is  entirely  too  great ;  a  slight  stream,  which  has 
been  described  as  a  severe  trickle,  will  be  all  that 
is  required. 

As  the  boxes  have  an  average  capacity  of  fifteen 
hundred  spawn,  seven  thousand  five  hundred  can 
be  hatched  in  a  flight  of  five  boxes,  occupying  a 
space  of  but  twenty-one  by  thirty-one  inches ; 
while  the  double  pyramidal  flight  (Fig.  8),  eight 


Fio.  8. 

feet  by  three,  will  accommodate  about  twenty  thou- 
sand spawn.  In  the  Troutdale  hatching-house, 
of  the  interior  of  which  a  cut  is  presented  (Fig.  9) 
on  the  following  page,  it  will  be  seen  that  along 
the  wall,  to  the  right  and  left,  these"  trays  are 
arranged  in  double,  lateral  flights,  the  water  enter- 
ing from  a  two-inch  pipe  directly  from  the  spring 

3 


50 


PEACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 


HATCHING-HOUSES  AND  APPAKATUS.        m    51 

into  the  filtering-box  at  the  extreme  end  of  the 
building,  from  whence  it  is  carried  to  the  supply 
trough  which  runs  parallel  with  the  sides  of  the 
building.  The  troughs  are  supplied  by  stop-cocks 
of  pewter.  These  we  have  found  preferable  to 
brass,  as  they  are  cheaper,  cleaner,  and  not  liable 
to  get  out  of  order.  Instead  of  splashing  on  the 
floor,  the  water  from  the  lowest  trays  is  received 
into  a  funnel  and  passes  by  a  pipe,  inclined 
at  an  acute  angle,  to  the  out-of-the-way  gutters, 
immediately  beneath  the  supply  troughs.  The 
amount  of  water  is  regulated  by  a  stop-cock  at 
the  entrance  of  the  main  supply  pipe.  For  this 
purpose  a  molasses  faucet  answers  every  purpose ; 
a  slight  leakage  being  of  no  importance.  In  the 
center  of  the  building  are  a  pair  of  old  gravel 
troughs,  elevated  breast-high ;  these  are  used  only 
for  keeping  the  young  fry  for  some  time  after 
hatching,  and  are  called  the  nursery  troughs. 
They  are  of  little  use,  except  in  large  establish- 
ments, and  will  be  again  mentioned  when  we  arrive 
at  the  alevin  or  babyhood  stage  of  the  young 
trout.  The  floor  of  the  hatching-house  is  a  matter 
of  some  importance,  dry  feet  are  a  luxury  which 
we  fully  appreciate,  and  india-rubber  boots  an 
abomination.  A  dry  floor  of  a  hatching-house, 
be  it  of  wood,  earth,  asphalt,  or  cement,  is  almost 
an  impossibility.  The  best  arrangement  that  can 


62  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

be  made  is  to  lay  what  is  called  a  spar  floor, 
composed  of  pieces  of  shingle  lath  (2  x  1)  laid 
upon  2x3  inch  scantling,  the  laths  being  one 
inch  apart,  and  rounded  slightly,  or,  as  it  is  tech- 
nically termed,  "the  corners  taken  off"  on  the 
upper  side ;  any  water  which  may  drip  will,  of 
course,  fall  between  these,  and  a  comparatively 
dry  footing  will  be  obtained.  By  means  of  over- 
flow pipes  in  the  supply  and  breeding  troughs,  a 
proper  height  of  water  may  always  be  retained. 

The  advantages  of  the  tray  over  the  trough  sys- 
tem are  numerous :  First,  it  is  almost  impossible 
for  any  dirt  to  settle  upon  the  glass  and  destroy 
the  vitality  of  the  egg ;  secondly,  the  eggs  are  al- 
ways in  full  view,  not  only  can  their  development 
be  watched,  a  matter  of  great  interest  to  every 
true  fish  culturist,  but  any  dead  or  dying  ones  can 
at  once  be  detected  and  removed.  The  number  of 
rods  in  each  grille  being  known,  the  number  of 
spawn  on  hand  can  be  at  once  estimated ;  and, 
when  eggs  are  to  be  packed  for  shipping,  the  un- 
certain method  of  measuring  and  the  tedious  one 
of  counting  can  both  be  avoided.  The  young 
fishes,  when  hatched,  fall  through  the  interstices 
between  the  tubes  into  the  water  beneath,  and  by 
withdrawing  the  cork  can  be  "drawn  off"  into  a 
pan  of  water  and  removed  to  the  nursery  trough. 
If  no  trough  is  on  hand,  they  may  be  retained  in 


HATCHING-HOUSES   AND  APPARATUS;  53 

the  pan  until  the  trough  is  thoroughly  cleansed  and 
a  little  gravel  spread  over  the  bottom,  when  they 
may  be  returned  to  the  tray  and  kept  until  ready 
for  the  pond.  If  it  is  intended  that  the  tray  be  used 
as  a  nursery,  it  should  have  the  orifice  of  the  spout 
covered  with  fine  wire  gauze,  to  prevent  the  sud- 
den disappearance  of  the  fish  after  the  sac  has 
been  absorbed,  an  event  of  no  unlikely  occurrence. 
The  windows  of  the  hatching-house  should  be  pro- 
tected by  thick  blinds,  as  the  dim,  religious  light, 
so  often  mentioned,  is  appropriate  for  the  spawn. 
Direct  sunlight  is  decidedly  injurious  and  fre- 
quently fatal.  We  have  found  a  small  reflecting 
lantern  convenient  in  examining  spawn.  Candles 
should  not  be  used,  as  grease  falling  into  the  trays 
may  seriously  injure  their  contents. 

The  mixed  system  is  a  combination  of  the  trough 
with  the  grille — a  slight  saving  in  expense  is  the 
only  benefit  to  be  derived  frgm  it,  and  this  is  more 
than  counterbalanced  by  the  difficulties  met  with 
in  their  manipulation.  If  the  troughs  are  long, 
a  slight  motion  at  one  end  will  cause  a  wave  which 
will  be  transmitted  throughout  its  entire  length, 
and,  as  we  have  found  by  experiment,  seriously 
disturb  the  spawn.  It  will  be  found  to  be  very 
difficult  to  keep  the  trough  clean,  and  the  young, 
after  hatching,  fall  directly  upon  the  dirt,  which 
has  for  some  time  been  accumulating,  and  which 


64  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

can  not  readily 'be  removed.  Two  troughs,  with 
one  set  of  grilles,  which  might  be  transferred 
from  one  trough  to  the  other  to  allow  cleansing, 
might  answer ;  but  the  tray  is  by  far  the  most  con- 
venient ;  it  is  simple,  substantial,  neat,  and  cleanly ; 
and  what  more  can  be  desired  ? 

The  ground  around  the  hatching-house  should 
be  made  to  slope  away  from  it  in  every  direction, 
and  should  this  be,  from  the  lay  of  the  land,  im- 
possible, wide  ditches  should  be  dug,  of  sufficient 
capacity  to  carry  off  all  surface-water.  Our  old 
hatching-house  was  built  at  the  foot  of  a  hill,  and 
more  than  once,  during  an  unusually  heavy  sum- 
mer shower,  have  we  found  the  water  standing  on 
the  floor,  once  to  the  depth  of  nearly  a  foot. 

Unless  the  fish-farmer  is  abundantly  supplied 
with  cash,  we  would  recommend  that  the  hatching- 
house  be  built  as  plainly  as  possible.  We  have 
seen  them  of  cut  stone,  with  handsomely  orna- 
mented cornices,  but  are  not  aware  that  the  per- 
centage of  spawn  hatched  in  them  was  greater 
than  that  in  other  and  more  unpretending  struct- 
ures. Inch  hemlock  with  strips  at  the  joints  of 
the  boards  is  all  that  is  required,  and  a  good  and 
cheap  roof  may  be  made  by  covering  boards  with 
felt  paper,  on  which  is  placed  a  good  coat  of  plas- 
tic slate,  or  even  thick  mineral  paint,  well  sanded. 
The  roof  should  be  perfectly  water-tight,  as  the 


HATCHING-HOUSES   AND  APPAEATUS.  55 

disturbance  of  the  spawn  by  the  dropping  of  water 
is  apt  to  cause  serious  injury  to  them.  A  strong 
spring  upon  the  door  to  prevent  it  from  being  care- 
lessly left  open  is  of  more  consequence  than  may 
at  first  sight  appear,  as  fowls  and  birds  of  all  de- 
scriptions are  very  fond  of  the  spawn,  and  will  eat 
it  upon  every  opportunity,  probably  taking  it  for 
some  new  species  of  grain.  Rats  and  mice  are 
sometimes  very  destructive,  if  they  make  their 
appearance  late  in  the  season,  as  may  be  known 
by  finding  of  a  morning  the  spawn  piled  in  heaps, 
instead  of  lying  neatly  upon  the  tubes.  The  trays 
must  be  covered ;  half-inch  boards,  cut  to  proper 
lengths  and  notched  to  admit  the  spouts,  will  an- 
swer well,  and  then  poison  the  rats.  Be  not  de- 
ceived by  venders  of  nostrums — "Dead  Shot," 
<  <  Sudden  Death, "  "  Phosphorus  Paste, ' '  etc.  We 
have  fed  rats  and  mice  on  these,  and  they  seemed 
to  enjoy  them ;  but  arsenic  and  strychnine  act, 
and  act  promptly,  and  no  second  dose  is  required. 
With  any  proper  amount  of  care  there  is  no  danger 
of  injury  to  outside  animals. 

For  conducting  water  from  the  spring  to  the  fil- 
tering-box, iron  pipe  is  the  best.  This  can  be  ob- 
tained at  a  low  cost,*  and  will  last  a  life-time. 
Lead  will,  in  some  cases,  affect  the  water,  and  terra 

*  We  can  furnish  it  at  five  cents  per  pound. 


56  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

cotta  can  not  be  relied  upon.  It  is  but  little 
cheaper  than  iron,  when  the  cost  and  risks  of  trans- 
portation are  taken  into  consideration,  and  we 
have  known  it  to  crumble  from  the  action  of 
frost.  The  supply  pipe  is  the  main  artery  of  the 
hatching-house,  and  any  derangement  may  cause 
the  loss  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  spawn.  The 
spring  end  of  this  should  project  some  distance 
into  the  water,  that  the  supply  may  be  of  the 
purest,  and  a  perforated  filter  should  be  attached 
to  the  end.  Bored  wooden  pump  logs  are  the 
worst  means  yet  devised  for  conducting  water, 
and  should  never  be  used,  as  we  know  by  experi- 
ence. 

A  two-inch  pipe,  with  a  fall  of  two  feet,  will 
supply  ample  water  for  the  hatching  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  spawn,  if  the  trays  be 
used.  The  trough  system  will  require  perhaps 
one  of  two  and  a  half  inches,  or  even  larger. 

As  previously  mentioned,  all  water  should  be 
carefully  filtered ;  this  is  most  conveniently  done 
by  means  of  the  filtering-box,  located  at  the  ex- 
treme end  of  our  hatching-house  (Fig.  9),  the 
water  entering  near  the  center  of  the  box  passes, 
first  through  haircloth  or  grasscloth,  then  through 
coarse,  and  afterward  through  fine  flannel.  A  set 
of  these  is  placed  on  each  side  of  the  pipe.  Our 
method  of  attaching  the  flannel  to  the  frames  is 


HATCHING-HOUSES   AND   APPARATUS.  57 

somewhat  peculiar.  The  old  plan  was  to  fasten 
them  on  with  small  tacks,  but  as  the  flannel 
rapidly  rotted,  it  was  a  work  of  some  time  and 
labor  to  renew  them.  Our  present  plan  is,  to 
make  two  frames,  fitting  one  within  the  other  ;  be- 
tween these  the  filters  are  fastened,  in  the  manner 
of  a  drum  head.  They  can  readily  be  removed 
and  washed,  or,  if  necessary,  replaced. 

No  whitewash  should  be  used  in  01  on  the  build- 
ing ;  a  small  fragment  falling  into  the  nursery 
trough  might  cause  the  death  of  thousands  of 
young  trout.  Lime,  in  any  form,  seems  to  be 
peculiarly  fatal  to  them,  and  must  be  avoided ; 
and  no  paint  of  any  description  should  be  placed 
on  any  wood  work  on  which  young  fishes  are  to 
be  kept. 

3* 


58  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  SPAWNING  RACK. 

FROM  one  of  the  simplest  appendages  to  the 
ponds,  the  spawning  race  has  of  late  become,  per- 
haps, the  most  complicated.  Its  use  is,  of  course, 
apparent  to  all.  It  is  the  place  to  which  the  fishes 
resort  for  the  purpose  of  depositing  their  ora.  In 
some  cases  this  action  upon  their  part  is  forestalled 
by  the  proprietor,  and  the  result  is  artificial  im- 
pregnation ;  while  in  others,  by  means  of  screens, 
the  eggs  are  collected  and  transported  to  the 
hatching-house,  after  having  been  fertilized  with- 
out human  intervention ;  while  in  a  third  form, 
the  fishes,  after  depositing  their  ova,  are  driven 
out,  and  the  naturally  impregnated  spawn  allowed 
to  incubate  in  the  gravel  in  which  they  were  de- 
posited. 

Let  us  first  glance  at  the  operations  of  the  trout 
while  in  a  state  of  nature.  In  the  months  of  No- 
vember or  December,  in  our  latitude  (40-41°),  the 
pregnant  female,  accompanied  by  her  attendant 
male,  seeks  a  shallow,  shady  spot,  generally  at 
the  mouth  of  a  small,  cool  stream,  where  the  bot- 


THE   SPAWNING   RACE.  69 

torn  is  covered  with  fine  gravel.  Together  they 
work,  and  by  slow,  but  steady  and  oft-repeated 
sweeps  of  their  tails,  a  hole  of  a  circular  form  is 
excavated,  varying  from  one  to  three  feet  in  di- 
ameter, and  from  one  to  five  inches  in  depth. 
This  work  being  accomplished,  they  both  remain 
perfectly  quiet  for  some  time,  the  period  varying 
from  a  few  minutes  to  several  hours.  During  this 
time  they  appear  almost  entirely  unconscious  of 
the  approach  of  their  enemies,  and  may  frequently 
be  seized  by  the  hand  and  captured  without  resist- 
ance. In  fact,  before  the  enactment  of  the  present 
admirable  laws,  this  was  the  favorite  period  of 
their  capture,  as  a  loop  of  wire,  attached  to  the 
end  of  a  short  stick,  was  all  that  was  required. 
Suddenly,  however,  the  female  bends  her  body 
into  a  curve,  the  tail  and  head  elevated,  and  the 
abdomen  pressed  against  the  bottom  of  the  exca- 
vation. On  seeing  this,  the  male  at  once  takes  his 
position  at  her  side,  his  head  being  about  even 
with  her  dorsal  fin,  both  fishes  heading  down 
stream.  Pressing  her  abdomen  firmly  upon  the 
gravel,  the  female  moves  herself  forward  about 
one-third  of  her  length,  at  the  same  time  emitting 
a  number  of  eggs.  At  once  a  few  drops  of  milt 
are-ejected  by  the  male,  and  both  back  up  stream 
to  their  former  position.  Again  and  again  is  this 
process  repeated,  until  all  the  ova  are  deposited, 


60         PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

when  oth  at  once  cover  them  with  a  few  sweeps 
of  their  tails. 

It  is  rarely  that  the  most  practiced  observer  can 
see  the  ova  emitted,  his  first  knowledge  of  the  fact 
being  obtained  by  the  clouding  of  the  water  by 
the  ejected  milt,  which  follows  so  instantaneously 
as  at  once  to  obstruct  the  view. 

Thus  far,  nature  has  done  its  work,  and  done  it 
well ;  but,  alas  !  the  enemies,  which  nature  sends, 
soon  appear.  Another  pair  of  trout,  seeking  a 
spawning  ground,  may  appear  upon  the  field,  and 
while  excavating  their  own  nest,  discover  the  eggs 
deposited  and  impregnated  by  their  predecessors, 
and  regarding  them  as  a  savory  mor.se!,  at  once 
eat  them  up  before  proceeding  with  their  own 
work,  which  may,  in  turn,  become  the  food  of  an- 
other happy  pair.  A  duck  or  goose  arriving  on 
the  ground,  seems  to  recognize,  by  intuition,  the 
precious  deposit  below;  his  head  disappears  be- 
neath the  surface,  his  broad  bill  dips  deep  into 
the  gravel,  and  the  eggs  pass  into  his  voracious 
maw.  A  freshet  may  bring  down  upon  the  clean, 
shining  gravel  a  mass  of  mud,  covering  up  the 
spawn  and  depriving  it  of  the  oxygen  so  indispen- 
sable for  its  existence.  But  not  only  above  the  sur- 
face appear  the  enemies  of  the  spawn ;  others  and 
more  dangerous,  being  more  concealed,  are  found 
below.  The  larva?  of  many  insects  are  aquatic  in 


THE   SPAWNING   KACE.  61 

their  habits  and  carnivorous  in  their  tastes,  as  has 
been  ascertained  by  sad  experience.  Seventy  thou- 
sand salmon  spawn  destroyed  in  one  season  by 
these  minute  pests,  at  Stormonfield,  bear  witness 
to  the  truth  of  this  statement.  And  even  in  the 
eggs  themselves  lie  a  source  of  death. 

The  dreaded  byssus  may  appear,  and  there  be- 
ing no  one  present  to  remove  the  infected  spawn, 
the  loss  of  the  entire  nest  may  ensue 

Having  thus  noticed  the  method  of  spawning 
when  the  trout  are  in  their  natural  state,  we  learn 
by  it  the  points  necessary  for  the  proper  prepara- 
tion of  the  spawning  races,  and  the  dangers  which 
surround  the  spawn  after  impregnation.     The  ob- 
ject of  the  fish  culturist  is  to  imitate  the  former 
and  obviate  the  latter.     The  races  should  be  at- 
tached to  every  pond,  except  that  in  which  the 
youngest  fishes  are  kept,  and  should  be  prepared 
with  care,  as  the  object  will  be  to  entice  the  trout 
into  them,  that  the  spawn  may  not  be  lost     The 
sides  should  be  of  two  thicknesses  of  brick,  well 
laid  in  cement.     We  have  tried  earth,   boards, 
slates,    and    other   cheap    substitutes,    but   have 
abandoned  them  all  for  the  brick,  which  alone  we 
have  found  to  be  reliable.     We  have  known  the 
water  rushing  through  a  knot-hole  in  a  wooden 
side  plank  soon  wear  a  hole  in  which  a  pair  of 
fishes  could  and  did  readily  conceal  themselves. 


62  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

As  previously  stated,  no  gravel,  under  any  circum- 
stances, should  be  allowed  in  any  pond,  except 
that  in  which  were  placed  the  youngest  fishes ; 
but  the  bottom  of  the  spawning  race,  of  whatever 
character,  should  be  well  covered.  Between  the 
head  of  the  race  and  the  pond  should  be  a  fall  of 
at  least  six  inches,  and  should  it  be  so  great  that 
it  might  be  difficult  for  the  fishes  to  ascend,  re- 
course must  be  had  to  the  fish  ladder.  This  is 
readily  formed  by  placing  across  the  race  boards 
equal  in  length  to  its  width,  and  in  width  some- 
what greater  than  the  depth  of  the  water.  Wide 
notches,  varying  in  size  according  to  the  amount 


Fio.  10.— BOARD  FOB  FISH  LADDER. 

of  water,  should  be  cut  in  these  near  the  end. 
These  boards  should  be  placed  across  the  race,  at 
distances  determined  by  the  height  of  the  fall,  and 
so  arranged  that  the  notches  be  on  alternate  sides 

A 


s—C 

---.. 

. 

B,  IF 

B,.  

\ 

V 

i 

*        I  ' 

/ 

1 

'1  

I 

rf  

'         1  v» 

{. 

v  ^_, 

B     —  -^ 

Fie.  11.— FISH  LADDER. 


of  the  stream.     A  plan  of  a  ladder  so  arranged  is 
to  be  seen  in  Fig.  11. 
A,  A  represent  the  sides  of  the  race ;  B,  B,  B, 


THE  SPAWNING  RACE.  63 

B,  B,  B,  B  the  notched  boards  placed  across  the 
race,  at  right  angles  to  the  natural  current ;  c,  c, 
c,  c,  c,  c,  c,  c  the  notches  through  which  the  water 
flows,  the  dotted  line  indicating  the  direction  of 
the  current.  It  is  thus  readily  seen  that  the  fish, 
on  passing  through  the  notch,  at  once  finds  him- 
self in  comparatively  still  water,  and  is  thus  able 
to  rest  himself  and  prepare  for  his  ascent  to  the 
next  pool.  The  boards  may  be  held  in  place 
by  a  few  twenty-penny  nails,  driven  into  the  ce- 
ment between  the  bricks  upon  the  lower  side,  the 
force  of  the  current  retaining  them  well  in  their 
places. 

Over  the  whole  should  be  placed  a  cover. 
Loose  boards  have  been  much  used,  but  we  have 
objected  to  them  from  the  time  occupied  in  remov- 
ing and  replacing  them.  Covers  formed  of  three- 
eighth  inch  pine  boards,  well-nailed  to  battens 
with  wrought  iron  nails,  and  provided  with  hinges, 
pulleys,  and  a  counterpoise  weight,  can  be  made 
to  raise  or  lower  at  a  touch.  They  are,  it  is 
true,  somewhat  more  expensive  than  old  odds  and 
ends  of  hemlock  boards,  but  when  once  made  and 
thoroughly  painted,  will,  if  put  away  carefully  at 
the  end  of  the  season,  last  a  life-time. 

Having  thus  shown  how  the  important  requisites 
of  shade,  gravel,  and  easy  access  are  afforded  our 
fishes,  we  will  next  consider  the  four  varieties 


64         PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

of  spawning  races  used  in  the  natural  impreg- 
nation of  ova,  reserving  for  another  chapter  the 
entire  process  of  artificial  fertilization.  Long  ere 
fish  culture  was  oknwn  and  recognized  as  a  science, 
it  was  the  custom  of  many  who  owned  trout 
ponds  to  allow  the  fishes,  during  the  spawning 
season,  access  to  the  spring-head,  and  after  all 
their  spawn  had  been  deposited  they  were  driven 
back  to  the  pond,  and  their  return  prevented  by  a 
screen.  In  some  parts  of  our  country,  especially, 
we  have  understood,  upon  Long  Island,  series  of 
ponds  were  constructed  in  pairs,  as  in  the  annexed 
cut.  Let  A  represent  the  main  pond,  connected 
by  a  sluice  with  the  pond  B  by  means  of  a  short 


FIG.  12. 

race-way  and  gate  C,  the  water  flowing  from  B  to 
A.     During  the  spawning  season  the  gate  (C)  was 


THE  SPAWNING  RACE.  65 

opened,  and  the  fishes  ascended  to  B,  the  bottom 
of  which  was  covered  with  clean,  bright  gravel. 
When  the  season  was  over  the  fishes  were  driven 
back  to  A,  and  the  gate  being  closed,  the  spawn 
were  allowed  to  hatch  without  disturbance.  Being 
closely  watched,  all  danger  from  aquatic  birds  was 
avoided,  and  thus  two  enemies  of  the  spawn  were 
removed,  beside  the  young  were  protected  for  one 
year  at  least  from  the  adults,  whose  love  for  their 
young  has  been  previously  noted.  An  improve- 
ment on  this  was  suggested  by  an  ingenious  gentle- 
man (or  rather,  if  all  are  to  be  believed,  several 
gentlemen,  for,  like  "  Beautiful  Snow,"  the  inven- 
tion is  claimed  by  more  than  one).  A  wire 
screen  covered  with  gravel,  arranged  parallel  with 
the  bottom  of  the  race,  would  allow  the  trout  to 
deposit  and  naturally  impregnate  their  spawn, 
which  would  then  fall  through  the  interstices  of 
the  wire  gauze,  of  which  the  screen  was  composed, 
and  thus  at  once  be  out  of  harm's  way.  This 
method  has  been  found  to  succeed  well ;  but  the 
spawn  are  still  exposed  to  the  dangers  beneath. 
Where  the  eggs  can  pass,  the  larva  of  insects  can 
pass,  and  the  ravages  of  the  byssus  can  neither  be 
detected  nor  prevented. 

Thus  far  the  process  of  both  impregnation  and 
incubation  had  been  left  to  nature.  That  in  the 
former  she  succeeded  well  there  can  be  no  doubt, 


66 


PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 


but  in  the  latter  there  was,  to  say  the  least,  great 

room  for  improvement.* 

This  improvement  was  made  by  Mr.  Ainsworth 
by  a  most  simple  yet  effective  ar- 
rangement. A  second  screen  of  fine 
wire  gauze  was  placed  below  the 
one  previously  used  ;  both  screens 
were  so  arranged  that  they  could 
be  readily  raised,  the  spawn  collect- 
ed on  the  lower  one,  removed  and 
transported  to  the  hatching-house, 
where  all  hitherto  concealed  ene- 
mies could  be  detected  and  con- 
tended against ;  and  thus  the  happy 


8 


I 

°     § 

I! 

*   I 

,r  fc 


*  Let  us  here  not  be  regarded  as  irreverent 
None  more  than  ourselves  admire  the  works 
of  the  Creator  and  the  wonders  of  his  hand ; 
yet  man  is  placed  upon  the  earth  to  work. 
The  crude  material  in  small  quantity  is  fur- 
nished him,  and  he  must  improve  and  increase 
it  The  Creator  gave  the  crab-apple,  from  it 
man  has  produced  the  Newtown  Pippin;  he 
causes  the  corn  to  grow,  but  man  must  manure 
and  cultivate- it;  he  created  upon  the  mount- 
ains of  Persia  a  coarse,  poisonous  shrub,  with 
fruit  dangerous  to  life,  yet  from  this,  man,  by 
work  and  a  careful  following  out  of  the  rules 
indicated  by  an  observance  of  other  works  of 
the  Creator,  has  derived  the  luscious  peach. 
Hundreds  of  similar  and  well-known  instances 
might  be  mentioned.  Nature,  to  a  certain 
point,  does  her  work,  but  it  is  for  man  to  com- 
plete it 


THE   SPAWNING  RACE.  67 

combination  of  natural  impregnation  with,  artificial 
incubation  was  successfully  accomplished. 

In  regard  to  the  impregnation  of  the  ova,  nothing 
more  could  be  asked,  yet  there  were  some  objec- 
tions to  this  form  of  race.  In  the  first  place,  time 
and  labor  were  required  to  raise  the  screens  and 
remove  the  ova.  Unless  the  sections  were  very 
small,  the  weight  of  frame,  grating,  and  gravel 
were  by  no  means  light.  The  fishes  must  be 
driven  from  the  race  each  time  the  eggs  were  taken, 
and,  as  previously  mentioned,  quiet  is  one  of  the 
requisites  for  successful  natural  impregnation  ;  the 
spawn  at  an  early  stage  were  subjected  to  rather 
rough  handling;  and  last,  though  not  least,  the 
hands  of  the  operator  were  alternately  immersed  in 
comparatively  warm  water  and  suddenly  exposed 
to  the  wintry  air. 

Mr.  A.  S.  Collins,  the  friend  and  partner  of  the 
redoubtable  Seth,  has  invented  and  patented  an 
arrangement  by  which  all  these  evils  are  removed, 
and  the  fish  culturist  can  now  take  and  remove  to 
his  hatching-house  his  impregnated  spawn  without 
wetting  his  hands.  This  is  indeed  the  luxury  of 
fish-culture.  The  following  is  his  description  of 
his  invention : 

The  improvement  consists  in  a  new  and  conve- 
nient method  of  collecting  the  eggs.  Fig.  14  repre- 
sents a  small  spawning  box  with  a  portion  of  the 


68  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

side  removed.  Fig.  15  is  an  enlarged  view  of  the 
front  of  the  same  box.  At  A  is  seen  a  double  row 
of  coarse  wire  screens  (three  meshes  to  the  inch), 
eight  in  number.  Instead  of  being  made  singly, 


FIG.  14. 

each  two  feet  square  (as  usually  made),  they  are 
put  together  in  one  frame,  eight  feet  by  four. 
These  screens  are  to  be  filled  with  coarse  gravel, 
and  the  eggs  pass  through,  as  in  Ainsworth's 
screens.  Under  these  is  an  endless  apron  of  fine 
wire  cloth  (B),  passing  over  rollers  at  the  two  ends 
of  the  box.  This  apron  is  about  one  inch  beneath 
the  upper  screen,  and  is  kept  from  sagging  by 
small  cross-bars  (two  of  which  are  seen  in  the 
cut),  corresponding  to  the  divisions  of  the  upper 
screen. 

These  cross-bars  are  supported  by,  and,  when 
the  rollers  are  turned,  slide  on  an  inch  square  strip 


THE  SPAWNING  RACE. 


69 


nailed  to  the  side  of  the  box.     A  similar  strip  one 
inch  above  supports  the  larger  screens. 

The  cross-bars  also  keep  the  eggs  from  being  car- 
ried down  by  the  current.  By  using  two  small 
beveled  cog-wheels  the  front  roller  can  be  turned 
by  the  handle  seen  at  G.  As  the  roller  is  turned 
forward  the  endless  apron  moves  with  it,  and  the 
eggs,  as  they  come  to  the  edge  of  the  roller,  will 
fall  off.  The  pan,  C  (Fig.  15),  is  placed  in  front  of 
the  roller,  and  receives  the  eggs  as  they  fall.  The 

E 


FIG.  15. 

box  need  not  be  more  than  two  feet  deep ;  the 
depth  depending  upon  the  size  of  the  rollers, 
which,  in  a  short  race,  may  be  quite  small,  and 
the  box  not  more  than  eighteen  inches  deep.  The 
box  is  set  directly  in  the  race-way,  and  intended  to 
fill  it  completely.  The  water  enters  in  the  direction 


70  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

of  the  arrows,  and  may  either  enter  with  a  fall  over 
the  top  of  the  box,  as  seen  in  Fig.  14,  or  the  top  of 
the  box  may  be  cut  down  until  the  water  will  enter 
on  the  level  at  which  it  is  intended  to  stand  over 
the  screens. 

F  (Fig.  14)  is  a  screen  intended  to  prevent  the  fish 
from  running  beyond  the  race,  or  getting  into  the 
lower  part  of  the  box.  It  may  extend  to  the  bot- 
tom, or  be  arranged  as  seen  in  the  engraving.  D 
is  a  screen  at  the  front  of  the  box,  also  intended  to 
prevent  the  fish  from  getting  below.  When  the 
eggs  are  to  be  taken  this  screen  is  raised  on  hinges 
to  an  upright  position,  and  confined  by  a  spring 
catch  or  latch,  as  seen  in  E  (Fig.  15).  This  con- 
fines the  fish  which  may  happen  to  be  in  the  race, 
and  none  of  them  can  get  below.  The  pan  is  then 
lowered  to  its  position,  the  roller  turned,  and  the 
eggs  taken.  When  the  operation  is  finished,  the 
screen  (D)  is  again  lowered,  the  button  turned,  and 
the  work  is  done.  If-  the  box  is  wide,  say  four 
feet,  it  is  more  convenient  to  have  the  pan  made  in 
two  or  three  sections,  inserted  in  a  light  frame,  as 
the  eggs  can  be  more  easily  carried  in  and  poured 
out  of  a  shorter  pan.  It  is  better,  perhaps,  to 
make  the  screen  (D)  to  open  in  the  middle,  having 
hinges  at  both  sides.  Then  one  half  will  keep  the 
fish  in  the  pond,  and  the  other  half  the  fish  in  the 
race,  from  running  into  the  well.  The  box  can  be 


THE  SPAWNING  EACE.  71 

made  of  any  -length  from  four  feet  to  sixty  feet,  or 
even  longer,  and  of  any  width  from  two  feet  to  six 
or  eight.  If  it  is  made  very  wide,  an  additional 
longitudinal  support  must  be  provided  for  the  re- 
volving screen.  We  recommend  the  following 
dimensions  for  speckled  trout  races :  two  feet  wide 
and  from  ten  to  twenty  feet  long ;  or  four  feet  wide 
and  from  twenty  to  forty  feet  long.  The  upper 
screens  may  be  made  in  convenient  sections,  the 
whole  width  of  the  box,  and  six  or  eight  feet  long. 
The  screens  F  and  D  are  so  made  that  while  a 
full  current  is  permitted  to  flow  over  the  upper 
screens  (A),  only  a  gentle  current  can  flow  through 
the  under  part  of  this  box.  This  current  is  meant 
to  be  so  regulated  that  when  the  pan  (C)  is  placed 
about  an  inch  from  the  turning  roller,  all  the  small 
stones  which  the  trout  may  whip  through  the  up- 
per screen  will  fall  short  of  the  pan ;  the  eggs, 
being  lighter,  will  be  carried  by  the  current  into 
the  pan,  while  a  great  part  of  the  dirt,  etc.,  which 
may  collect  on  the  under  screen  will  be  carried  up 
over  the  pan  and  entirely  out  of  the  box.  The 
revolving  screen  may  be  made  of  tarred  muslin  or 
mosquito  netting.  But  wire  cloth  (of  ten  or  twelve 
meshes  to  the  inch)  keeps  much  the  cleanest,  and 
we  are  inclined  to  think  it  best  for  the  purpose.  We 
make  our  aprons  half  wire  cloth  and  half  tarred 
muslin,  furnishing  the  wire  only  with  cross-bars 


72  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

and  always  leaving  it  uppermost.  This  apron  is 
fastened  around  the  rollers  by  a  lacing  of  cord. 
At  the  end  of  the  season  the  water  in  the  pond  can 
be  drawn  down  a  foot  and  everything  taken  out 
but  the  rollers.  Give  the  screens  a  coat  of  paint  or 
gas  tar,  and  lay  them  away  in  a  dry  place  until 
the  next  autumn.  A  stiff  brush  may  also  be  placed 
under  the  forward  roller,  so  that  every  time  the 
roller  is  turned  to  remove  the  eggs,  the  screen  will 
be  perfectly  cleaned. 

The  box  can  be  so  arranged  that  the  rollers  also 
can  be  removed  each  season,  but  as  this  involves 
extra  trouble  and  expense,  and  as  the  axles  of  the 
rollers  and  even  the  cog-wheels  can  be  made  of 
hard  wood  (little  strain  coming  upon  them),  we 
generally  leave  the  rollers  in  through  the  season. 

This  box  looks  at  first  sight  somewhat  compli- 
cated, but  is  in  reality  very  simple  and  easier  to 
make  than  to  describe.  Any  one  who  has  the 
knack  of  using  tools  can  make  one  which  will 
answer  the  purpose  perfectly.  The  cost  is  very 
little  more  than  that  of  the  Ainsworth  screens  (of 
the  same  area)  as  generally  used.  The  cost  for 
wire  being  the  same  in  both  cases,  the  lumber  in 
the  box  itself  being  extra,  and  also  the  rollers, 
hinges,  and  cog-wheels  (or  windlass  wheel). 

A  few  of  the  advantages  of  the  plan  are  as  fol- 
lows :  Let  us  compare  a  double  row  of  forty  Ains- 


THE  SPAWNING  RACE.  73 

worth  screens,  each  two  feet  square  and  occupying 
a  space  in  the  race-way  forty  feet  long  and  four 
feet  wide,  with  one  of  the  new  spawning-boxes  of 
the  same  dimensions. 

1st.  By  the  old  way  it  would  take  two  men  a 
good  half  day  to  remove  the  screens  singly,  feather 
off  the  eggs  in  a  careful  manner,  and  return  each 
(double)  screen  to  its  proper  place. 

It  would  take  the  new  spawning-box  about  fif- 
teen minutes  to  do  the  same  work  with  one  man. 

2d.  The  weight  of  the  gravel  which  has  to  be  lifted 
in  the  old  way  every  time  the  eggs  are  removed, 
amounts  to  many  tons  in  the  course  of  a  season. 

In  the  new  box  the  gravel  is  not  lifted  at  all. 

3d.  By  the  old  way  the  operator's  hands  must 
of  necessity  be  more  or  less  wet  during  the  whole 
operation.  Now,  as  the  trout  and  salmon  spawn 
during  the  winter  season,  when  the  thermometer 
generally  stands  below  the  freezing  point,  taking 
eggs  in  the  old  way  is  not  only  inconvenient  and 
painful,  but  often  impossible. 

By  the  new  way  the  hands  are  not  made  wet  and 
may  be  kept  comfortably  gloved. 

4th.  By  the  old  way  more  or  less  of  the  eggs  are 
lost  by  careless  feathering,  exposing  the  eggs  to 
the  freezing  atmosphere,  clumsiness  in  handling 
the  screens  (caused  by  cold  fingers),  tipping  of  the 
screens,  wash  of  the  current,  etc.,  etc. 

4 


74  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

By  the  new  way  every  egg  is  saved. 

6th.  By  the  old  method  every  fish  is  driven  out 
of  the  race  when  the  eggs  are  taken.  Some  of 
them  will  not  return,  but  will  seek  a  spawning 
place  in  the  pond,  and  many  eggs  will  be  unavoid- 
ably lost. 

By  the  new  way  the  fish  are  not  driven  from  the 
race.  And  as  the  boxes  are  always  covered  dur- 
ing the  season,  the  fish  will  not  even  be  disturbed. 
In  fact,  they  may  spawn  while  the  eggs  are  'being 
taken,  and  yet  not  a  single  egg  be  lost. 

This  race  has  been  tested  with  the  greatest  care, 
and  the  results  have  been  favorable  in  every  case. 
In  many  establishments  where  the  Ainsworth  race 
had  been  used,  it  has  been  superseded  by  the 
Collins,  and  tales  marvelous  even  to  the  piscicul- 
turist, whose  ears  are  well  accustomed  to  "fish 
stories,"  have  been  told  of  its  merits.  By  it  the 
greatest  difficulties  of  fish  culture  are  met  and  con- 
quered, though  many  still  remain  to  be  contended 
against.  Yet,  with  us,  we  still  hold  to  artificial 
impregnation,  believing  that  by  it  we  can  obtain 
the  best  results.  By  long  (and  sometimes  sad)  ex- 
perience we  have  gained  a  delicacy  of  touch  and 
facility  of  manipulation  which,  with  us,  needs 
nothing  more  to  be  desired.  During  the  first  sea- 
son we  have  hatched  from  eggs  impregnated  by 
hand  over  ninety-five  per  cent,  of  the  spawn  taken, 


THE  SPAWNING  RACE.  75 

and  we  desire  nothing  better.  Yet,  we  fully  be- 
lieve that,  had  we  been  possessed  at  the  commence- 
ment of  our  piscicultural  career  of  the  Collins 
race,  our  fishes  would  have  exceeded  by  ten-fold 
their  present  numbers.  We  regard  it  as  only  sec- 
ond in  importance  to  the  shad  hatching-box  of 
Seth  Green. 


76  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 


CHAPTER  VL 

ARTIFICIAL  IMPREGNATION. 

As  stated  in  the  last  chapter,  we  still  hold,  for 
reasons  there  mentioned,  to  artificial  impregnation, 
believing  that  in  our  hands,  at  least,  that  a  larger 
percentage  of  spawn  can  be  properly  and  thor- 
oughly impregnated  than  by  any  race,  however 
ingeniously  contrived.  It  is  about  the  first  of 
November  that  female  fishes  make  their  first  ap- 
pearance in  our  race.*  Males  have  appeared  some 
weeks  earlier,  but  the  average  of  several  seasons 
fixes  November  1  as  the  period  at  which  the 
females  ready  to  spawn  first  appear.  The  fishes 
in  this  condition  are  technically  called  ripe  ;  and  a 
singular  change  has  taken  place  in  the  form  and 
color  since  the  previous  spring.  The  females,  in- 
stead of  the  bright  colors  in  which  they  formerly 
appeared,  have  become  sombre  in  hue,  putting  on, 
as  one  author  has  expressed  it,  a  grave  and  ma- 
tronly attire,  the  abdomen  being  greatly  distended 

*  To  prevent  misunderstanding  we  would  mention  that  the  word 
"  race,"  as  used  by  us,  means  simply  the  one  with  gravel-covered 
bottom.  If  screened  races  are  intended,  the  words  Collins  or  Ains- 
worth  will  be  used. 


ARTIFICIAL  IMPREGNATION.  77 

with  eggs.  The  section  of  the  body  taken  just 
behind  the  dorsal  fin  would  be  an  oval,  0-  Her 
movements  are  slow  and  sluggish.  In  the  male, 
however,  the  reverse  is  the  case.  The  colors,  espe- 
cially of  the  fins  and  abdomen,  are  far  more  bril- 
liant than  at  any  time ;  in  flesh  he  has  sensibly 
diminished  in  weight,  and  from  this  cause  his  jaws, 
especially  the  lower  one,  appear  to  be  unusually 
prominent,  and  frequently  a  curved  knob-like  pro- 
jection appears  at  the  point.  This  has  been  noticed 
and  commented  on  by  an  English  writer  as  a  won- 
drous adaptation  of  means  to  ends,  enabling  the 
fish  to  excavate  the  nest  and  cover  the  impregnated 
spawn  with  more  facility,  but  as  the  tail  is  the 
only  organ  used  for  this  purpose,  some  other  use 
for  this  appendage  must  be  found.  There  is  no 
difficulty  in  distinguishing  the  sexes  ;  a  cock  and 
hen  are  no  more  unlike  than  a  male  and  female 
trout  during  the  spawning  season ;  at  other  times 
they  assimilate  more  in  shape  and  hue. 

To  properly  remove  the  fish  from  the  race  that 
they  may  be  manipulated,  is  a  matter  of  great  mo- 
ment. They  should  be  touched  by  hand  as  little 
as  possible.  And  here  let  me  mention  that  there 
are  but  two  portions  of  the  body  of  the  trout  where 
pressure  even  of  a  moderate  character  can  be  ap- 
plied without  injury.  The  first  is  directly  behind 
the  gills,  on  the  strong,  bony  arches  which  are 


78        PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

there  found ;  the  other,  the  tail,  behind  the  vent. 
In  front  of  the  former,  pressure  is  made  upon  the 
gills,  the  organs  of  respiration,  the  most  delicate 
portion  of  the  fish's  system,  while  compression 
anterior  to  the  vent  may  cause  rupture  of  the  air- 
bladder  or  other  viscera,  which  would  of  course 
result  in  death.  We  have  examined  numbers  of 
fishes  which  have  died  after  having  been  improp- 
erly handled,  and  death  has  been  found  invariably 
to  have  arisen  from  one  or  the  other  of  these 
causes.  The  race  should  have  a  fall  of  at  least  six 
inches  in  twenty  feet;  and  by  placing  a  bag  or 
clap-net  at  the  lower  end,  and  shutting  off  the 
water  at  the  upper,  the  water  will  run  off,  and  to 
avoid  being  left  high  and  dry  the  fishes  will  rush 
down  stream  and  be  taken  in  the  net.  During  the 
past  season  another  plan  has  been  adopted  at 
Troutdale.  A  hole  some  two  feet  in  diameter  and 
eight  inches  in  depth  was  dug  at  the  lower  end  of 
the  race,  into  which  the  trout  rush  on  the  stoppage 
of  the  water  by  means  of  the  gate.  The  object  of 
this  is  that  in  case  a  large  number  of  fishes  should 
be  in  the  race  they  need  not  all  be  at  once  removed, 
but  are  taken  from  the  hole  as  wanted  with  a 
Bcoop-net.  From  the  net  they  are  transferred  to 
broad,  shallow  tubs — such  as  are  used  for  bathing 
infants  answer  well ;  two  of  these  are  required,  as 
the  separation  of  the  males  and  females  facilitates 


ARTIFICIAL  IMPREGNATION.  79 

greatly  the  handling  of  the  fishes.  The  operator 
loses  no  time  (which,  with  the  thermometer  at 
zero,  is  doubly  precious)  in  selecting  his  subjects 
for  operation.  The  form  of  the  pan  in  which  the 
impregnation  is  to  be  accomplished  is  a  matter  of 
little  moment.  It  has  been  done  in  the  top  of  a  tin 
wash  boiler;  yet  some  suggestions  on  this  point 
may  be  important.  Whatever  is  used  it  must  be 
thoroughly  clean ;  a  drop  of  grease  will  prevent 
the  fertilization  of  thousands  of  spawn  ;  it  must  be 
smooth,  as  the  freshly-taken  spawn  may  be  killed 
by  coming  in  contact  with  any  rough  surface. 
Perhaps  the  best  articles  for  the  purpose  are  china 
soup-plates  of  the  largest  obtainable  size.  These 
will  hold  about  one  thousand  eggs  each.  The  only 
objection  to  their  use  is  the  ease  with  which  they 
are  broken ;  and  a  good,  new,  well-polished  tin 
basin  ten  inches  in  diameter  and  three  deep  will,  if 
kept  clean,  answer  the  same  purpose,  with  less 
danger  of  breakage.  If  it  is  desired  to  know  at 
once  the  number  of  spawn  taken,  it  is  readily 
ascertained  by  having  a  depression  sunk  in  the 
bottom  of  the  pan  eight  inches  long,  five  wide,  and 
one-sixth  of  an  inch  in  diameter;  this  will  hold 
one  thousand  average  spawn.  All  things  being 
ready,  the  pan  is  filled  to  about  one-third  of  its 
capacity  with  pure  water,  and  a  female  is  taken 
and  held  in  the  position  represented  in  Fig.  16,  the 


80        PEACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

right  hand  grasping  the  head,"  the  pressure  of  the 
thumb  and  forefinger  falling  just  behind  the  gills. 


FIG.  16. 

The  effect  of  this  will  be  thai  the  eggs,  acted 
upon  both  by  gravity  and  the  muscular  contrac- 
tion induced  by  the  position,  will  fall  downward 
toward  the  vent,  and  sometimes  a  few  will  be 
ejected  ;  it  is  therefore  well  to  hold  the  fish  above 
the  impregnating  pan,  that  all  ova  may  be  saved. 

The  method  of  holding  the  female  during  the 
process  of  artificial  spawning  varies  greatly  with 
different  operators.  Each  of  course  prefers  his 
own  plan,  yet  in  principle  all  are  the  same.  The 
eggs,  it  must  be  remembered,  are  not  squeezed  out, 
as  is  the  general  impression  among  those  but  little 


ARTIFICIAL  IMPREGNATION.  81 

acquainted  with  the  subject ;  but  the  fish  is  held  in 
such  a  position  (Fig.  17  represents  the  position  which 
we  have  found  most  convenient)  that  the  eggs  nat- 
urally flow  from  the  vent.  It  will  be  seen  that  the 
fish  is  bent  somewhat  in  the  form  of  the  letter  $,  the 
right  and  left  hands  being  respectively  placed  on 
the  head  and  tail,  with  the  thumbs  and  forefingers 


Fio.  17. 

pressing  upon  those  parts  where,  as  previously 
mentioned,  pressure  can  be  made  without  injury. 
With  a  left-handed  person  the  position  of  the 
hands  is  of  course  reversed.  If  on  holding  the  fish 
in  the  proper  position  no  eggs  appear,  the  belly 
may  be  gently  stroked  from  above  downward  with 
the  forefinger  of  the  right  hand,  and  if  the  eggs  are 
still  retained,  the  fish  should  be  returned  to  the 
water,  as  she  is  either  diseased  or  unripe,  in  either 
of  which  cases  the  eggs  would  be  useless.  If,  how- 

4* 


82         PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

ever,  the  eggs  flow  freely,  the  curve  is  to  be  grad- 
ually increased  until  they  have  ceased  to  flow, 
when,  by  the  gentle  motion  of  the  forefinger,  the 
few  remaining  in  the  cavity  of  the  abdomen  may 
be  safely  forced  out.  When  the  spawn  of  one 
female  is  taken,  they  should  at  once  be  impreg- 
nated by  treating  the  male  fish  in  the  same  manner 
— milt  instead  of  spawn  being  emitted.  It  is  rec- 
ommended by  some  authors  that  the  male  be  first 
taken,  for  the  reason  that  he  is  more  unmanageable 
than  the  female,  but  we  have  found  on  experiment 
that  the  eggs  are  better  impregnated  when  they 
are  taken  first.  If  there  be  a  scarcity  of  males  (no 
uncommon  occurrence  toward  the  end  of  the  sea- 
son), use  only  water  enough  in  the  pan  to  cover 
the  eggs.  The  milt  having  been  emitted  upon  the 
spawn,  they  should  be  stirred  gently  with  a  feather, 
or,  better  still,  with  the  tail  of  the  male  fish.  Some 
care  is  here  required,  as  too  energetic  stirring  will 
destroy  the  new  life  which  has  but  just  been  im- 
parted ;  but  if  the  eggs  be  not  stirred,  a  large  per- 
centage will  fail  to  impregnate.  From  careful 
observations  we  have  found  that  the  ratio  of  non- 
impregnation  between  stirred  and  non-stirred  eggs 
was  as  five  to  forty.  If  the  eggs  be  examined  at 
once,  they  will  be  found  to  be  wrinkled,  the 
shell  or  enveloping  membrane  being  apparently 
much  too  large  for  the  contents ;  but  immediately 


ARTIFICIAL  IMPREGNATION.  83 

upon  coming  in  contact  with  the  water,  absorption 
takes  place  through  the  membrane,  in  a  manner 
known  to  scientists  as  "endosmosis,"  and  the  eggs 
rapidly  assume  a  full,  round,  and  plump  figure. 
It  is  during  this  absorption  that  the  spermatozoa, 
with  which  the  milt  of  the  male  is  filled,  pass  in 
with  the  water  and  vitalize  the  egg.  It  is  therefore 
evident  that  after  the  absorption  has  once  taken 
place,  any  attempt  at  fertilization  would  be  useless. 
The  spawn,  until  the  process  of  absorption  is  fin- 
ished, adhere  to  each  other  and  to  the  bottom  of 
the  pan.  It  was  formerly  supposed,  and  we  our- 
selves have  repeatedly  stated  it,  that  the  spawn 
were  agglutinated  together  by  means  of  a  gummy 
substance  insoluble  in  water,  and  only  soluble  in 
the  milt  of  the  male.  This,  recent  observation  has 
proved  to  be  a  mistake.  The  egg  membrane  not 
being  filled,  the  sides  are  flattened  by  pressure 
against  each  other,  and  adhere  by  cohesive  attrac- 
tion ;  when  full,  this  surface  is  reduced  to  mini- 
mum, and  the  eggs  are  readily  separated.  This 
freeing  of  the  spawn,  as  it  is  termed,  shows  that 
absorption  has  been  finished,  and  that  they  have 
obtained  all  the  vitalization  which  they  are  capable 
of  receiving.  The  experiments  of  Mr.  Vrasski 
upon  this  subject  are  excessively  interesting.  His 
first  essays  were  upon  the  system  laid  down  in  the 
primitive  French  works  upon  fish  culture,  in  which 


84         PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

the  eggs  and  milt  were  obtained  in  separate  vessels 
of  water  and  afterward  mixed.  The  result,  as 
might  be  premised,  was  anything  but  satisfactory. 
A  careful  series  of  examinations  and  experiments 
showed  him  that  the  spermatozoa  of  the  milt  upon 
being  placed  in  cold  water  survived  only  but  a  few 
moments,  many  dying  at  the  expiration  of  a  min- 
ute and  a  half,  whtle  at  the  end  of  five  minutes  not 
one  was  left  alive.  .The  period  during  which  ab- 
sorption was  taking  place  was  about  half  an  hour. 
He  now  takes  his  spawn  dry,  pours  upon  them  the 
pure  milt,  and  with  this  most  novel  and  most  un- 
natural method  has  obtained  the  most  gratifying 
results.  The  milt  of  one  male  will  impregnate 
thousands  of  spawn.  Mr.  Thaddeus  Norris  men- 
tions in  his  "American  Pish  Culture"  (page  54)  a 
case  in  which  Mr.  Ains worth  fertilized  as  many 
eggs  as  would  cover  the  bottom  of  his  pan  (dimen- 
sions of  pan  unfortunately  not  given)  with  a  single 
drop  of  milt.  And  Spallanzani  records  a  similar 
instance.  Yet  it  is  well  that  plenty  should .  be 
taken.  Barren  males,  whose  milt  is  only  to  be 
distinguished  from  that  of  their  prolific  neighbors 
by  the  aid  of  the  microscope,  are  by  no  means 
rare,  and  it  is  well  to  always  be  upon  the  safe  side. 
Enough  should  be  taken  to  render  the  water  opal- 
escent or  pearly  in  hue. 
During  the  process  of  absorption  the  water  in  the 


ARTIFICIAL  IMPREGNATION.  85 

pan  should  be  kept  at  an  even  temperature.  The 
nursery  troughs  in  our  hatching-house  are  well 
suited  for  this  purpose,  keeping  it  at  the  constant 
temperature  of  50°.  Be  in  no  hurry  to  transfer 
the  eggs  from  the  pan  to  the  hatching  troughs  or 
trays — the  process  of  impregnation  is  soon  accom- 
plished ;  but  the  eggs  are  very  easily  injured  at 
this  period ;  and  when  the  temperature  of  the 
water  can  be  kept  constant,  half  an  hour's  repose 
should  be  allowed  them  before  the  transfer  takes 
place ;  then  gently  pour  them,  after  thorough 
washing,  on  the  spots  where  they  are  for  some  time 
to  remain.  Should  they  be  heaped,  gently,  with  a 
feather,  or  better  still,  a  broad  camel's  hair  brush, 
distribute  them  evenly  upon  the  grille  of  the  tray 
or  the  gravel  of  the  trough.  The  washing  is  not 
absolutely  necessary  for  the  health  of  the  spawn ; 
yet  the  water  being  rendered  somewhat  opaque 
by  the  milt,  its  removal  will  enable  the  operator 
to  see  his  way  much  more  clearly.  The  eggs 
should  so  lie  that  they  in  no  case  be  heaped  one 
upon  the  other.  Touching  does  no  harm,  but  we 
have  in  many  cases  found  heaping  fatal.  In  mov- 
ing the  eggs  we  again  say,  be  gentle  ;  the  time  will 
come  in  the  life  of  the  egg  when  it  will  bear  rough 
handling,  even  the  handling  of  the  express  agent, 
whose  mercies  are  by  no  means  tender;  but  the 
time  is  not  yet.  Gentle  movement  beneath  the 


86  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

water  with  feather  or  brash  they  will  stand,  but  a 
sudden  jar  is  to  them  at  this  age  certain  death. 
We  have  known  a  pan-full  of  eggs  to  be  destroyed 
by  the  slipping  of  the  feet  of  the  operator  and  tli^ 
knocking  of  the  pan  against  the  side  of  the  hatch- 
ing-house. We  have  frequently  endeavored  to 
transport  freshly  impregnated  ova  for  the  benefit 
of  friends  who  were  desirous  of  studying  their  de- 
velopment ;  we  have  packed  them  with  the  greatest 
care,  carried  the  vessel  in  which  we  had  placed 
them  in  our  hands,  and,  in  short,  taken  every  pos- 
sible precaution,  but  in  every  case  miserable  fail- 
ure was  the  result  Ten  days  after  impregnation 
is  the  earliest  period  at  which  we  have  been  enabled 
to  save  even  a  small  percentage  after  a  short  jour- 
ney. The  only  method  we  can  suggest  for  this 
purpose  is  the  transportation  of  the  parent  fishes 
and  performing  impregnation  upon  the  spot.  This 
difficulty  of  obtaining  early  spawn  has  greatly  re- 
tarded the  study  of  the  embryology  of  iishes  in  our 
country ;  and  should  a  plan  be  devised  for  their 
removal,  a  great  impetus  would  be  at  once  given 
to  original  research  in  this  most  interesting  branch 
of  natural  history. 


INCUBATION.  87 


CHAPTER  VIL 

INCUBATION. 

WE  will  suppose  that  our  spawn  has  been  taken 
with  all  possible  care  and  safely  deposited  in  the 
hatching-house,  that  the  supply  of  water  is  ample 
and  of  equable  temperature,  and  that  filtering  ap- 
paratus, stop-cocks,  and  other  accessories  are  in 
perfect  order.  Yet  still  we  must  not  feel  too  sure 
of  a  happy  and  successful  result.  Until  at  least 
seven  days  have  elapsed,  we  know  of  no  means, 
even  with  the  microscope,  of  positively  deciding 
between  impregnated  and  non-impregnated  spawn. 
u  Never  count  your  chickens  before  they  are 
hatched,''  is  a  proverb  which  must  be  borne  in 
mind ;  the  character  and  standing  of  more  than 
one  fish  culturist  has  suffered  from  a  contrary 
course.  The  crop  is  at  best  a  somewhat  uncertain 
one,  especially  in  inexperienced  hands.  All  con- 
tracts for  uyet  to  be"  fishes  or  spawn  should  be 
made  with  the  proviso,  "if  on  hand."  We  have 
known  all  the  eggs  of  a  large  fish  to  fail  in  im- 
pregnating ;  and  those  taken  from  fishes  of  over  a 

und  weight  obtained  from  other  waters  must 
always  be  regarded  with  suspicion.  We  have 


88         PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

found  that  large  females,  as  a  rule,  become  "barren 
from  a  change  of  locality ;  and  in  all  cases  the 
operator  is  most  successful  with  those  raised  in 
his  own  waters,  in  fact  "to  the  manor  born."  A 
careful  daily  inspection  of  the  entire  crop  on  hand 
must  be  made ;  every  egg  should  be  examined 
and  the  dead  ones  removed.  As  no  sunlight 
should  be  allowed  to  enter  the  hatching-house,  a 
small  bull's-eye  lantern,  or  one  furnished  with  a 
parabolic  reflector,  will  greatly  facilitate  opera- 
tions. In  this  stage  the  benefits  of  the  hatching- 
tray  are  plainly  recognized.  All  dead  spawn  must 
at  once  be  removed ;  they  may  readily  be  recog- 
nized in  the  trays,  as  their  dead  alabaster  white 
color  contrasts  strongly  with  the  black  of  the  box 
seen  through  the  transparent  tubes,  or  the  pearly 
translucent  hue  of  the  healthy  spawn-;  but  in  the 
gravel  troughs  the  case  is  different — the  gravel 
itself  is  of  the  color  of  deceased  eggs,  and  by  form 
alone  can  they  be  distinguished.  Again,  some 
may  be  buried  beneath  the  gravel,  and  thus  escape 
observation  until  serious  harm  may  occur.  But 
wherever  they  may  be  situated,  the  dead  eggs 
must  be  removed  daily.  The  shell  of  the  egg  is 
very  slippery,  so  much  BO  that  it  is  almost  impos- 
sible to  remove  them  with  the  fingers,  and  as  dead 
spawn  are  unfortunately  of  frequent  occurrence, 
numerous  instruments  have  been  devised  for  their 


INCUBATION. 


removal ;    several  of  those  formerly  in  use  are 
shown  in  Fig.  18. 


FIG.  18. 


A  is  a  pair  of  pincers  with  pointed  blades ;  B 
is  a  pipette,  while  Cf  is  a  scoop  to  be  placed  be- 
neath the  egg,  which  is  to  be  thrown  out  by  a  sud- 
den turn  of  the  wrist.  We  have  tried  all  these, 
and  found  them  slow  and  by  no  means  sure.  The 
object  should  be  to  remove  the  dead  spawn  with- 
out disturbing  others  in  the  vicinity ;  with  B  and 
C  this  can  not  be  done,  and  the  difficulty  of  man- 
ipulation of  A  is  much  greater  than  would  be  im- 
agined. We  felt  the  necessity  of  some  new  instru- 
ment for  the  purpose,  and  finally  suggested  the 
bulb-syringe  (Fig.  19).  This  has  been  adopted  by 
most  of  our  many  American  fish  culturists,  and 
has  given  the  most  perfect  satisfaction.  It  consists 


90  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

of  an  india-rubber  bulb  (A)  about  three  inches  in 
length  by  one  and  a  half  in  diameter.     To  this  is 


FIG.  19. 

attached  a  curved  pipe  (B) ;  by  slightly  compress- 
ing the  bulb  with  the  hand,  the  contained  air  is 
forced  out,  and  by  placing  the  nozzle  near  the 
dead  spawn,  and  relaxing  %the  grasp,  the  egg  is 
driven  toward  the  tip  of  the  pipe,  which  is  hol- 
lowed for  that  purpose,  and  retained  in  position 
by  the  pressure  of  the  external  air.  Dirt  of  any 
kind— and  dirt  will  find  its  way  into  the  boxes 
spite  of  all  our  precautions— may  be  removed  in 
the  same  manner.  On  a  trial  against  time,  by 
our  superintendent,  one  hundred  and  fifty-four 
dead  spawn  were  removed  from  a  tray  in  one  min- 
ute with  one  of  these  little  instruments. 

All  who  have  obtained  the  least  smattering 
of  piscicultural  lore  are  acquainted,  at  least  by 
name,  with  the  byssus— that  terror  of  fish  cultur- 
ists,  regarded  by  them  as  a  devastating  blight, 
a  pestilence  walking  in  darkness,  an  unprevent- 
able  and  incurable  disease,  liable  at  any  time 
to  attack  and  destroy  an  entire  crop  of  eggs, 


INCUBATION.  91 

against  which,  no  precautions  can  avail,  and  for 
which  no  remedy  can  be  devised.  The  word  is 
applied  to  two  very  different  vegetable  growths, 
the  one  appearing  upon  wood  when  immersed  for 
the  first  time  in  the  water, — a  gelatinoid  substance 
of  disgusting  appearance,  but  doing  no  possible 
harm.  We  have  hatched  spawn  surrounded  on 
all  sides  by  this  much-dreaded  material,  the  ap- 
pearance of  which  can  be  easily  prevented  by 
coating  all  wood-work  with  black  asphalt  varnish, 
or  by  charring.  As  the  charring  of  the  hatching- 
troughs  by  fire  has  been  made  the  subject  of  a 
patent,  and  from  ten  to  twenty -five  dollars  is 
charged  for  the  privilege,  it  may  be  well  to  men- 
tion that  strong  oil  of  vitriol  will  carbonize  the 
surface  of  wood  in  a  very  satisfactory  manner. 
Small  articles  may  be  dipped  in  it,  or,  if  the  object 
is  too  large,  it  may  be  rubbed  with  a  swab ;  the 
surface  should  then  be  washed  thoroughly  with  a 
mixture  of  one  ounce  of  salaratus  to  a  quart  of 
water,  and  afterward  laid  for  some  days  in  a  run- 
ning stream.  On  this  there  is  no  patent.  The 
true  byssus,  however,  is  a  different  substance, 
though  also  of  vegetable  character,  and  will,  under 
certain  circumstances,  attack  and  destroy  spawn ; 
but  it  will  not  at  first  appear  unless  upon  an  egg 
which  has  been  dead  for  at  least  twenty-four 
hours.  It  is  of  a  filamentous  character,  and  the 


92  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

infested  egg  may  be  said  to  resemble  a  minute  ball 
of  cotton.  Fig.  20,  from  the  work  of  M.  Coste, 
gives  an  exact  idea  of  its  appearance.  Should 


Fie.  90. 

this  not  be  in  time  removed,  it  will  become  the 
focus  of  contagion,  the  byssus  will  spread  from  it 
as  a  center,  and,  attacking  the  living  eggs  in  the 
vicinity,  soon  involve  them  all  in  a  common  death. 
The  remedy  for  this  is  simple.  As  has  been  pre- 
viously insisted  on,  remove  daily  all  dead  eggs, 
and  no  nucleus  of  contagion  can  form.  The  bys- 
sus is  a  proof  of  ignorance  or  neglect  upon  the 
part  of  the  person  in  charge.  It  is  probable  that 
this  is  one  of  the  greatest  causes  of  loss  in  natural 
incubation,  as  in  that  case  no  remedy  can  be 
devised. 

We  have  met  with  severe  loss  from  mice  and 
rats,  but  by  covering  the  boxes  these  pests  can  be 
readily  kept  off  and  a  few  well-poisoned  candles 
will  soon  destroy  them.  In  fact,  whenever  poison 
is  to  be  used  for  the  destruction  of  vermin,  the 
poisoned  candles  will  be  found  the  most  safe  and 
convenient  method  of  administration.  We  have 
seen  them  offered  for  sale,  but  having  found  some 


INCUBATION  93 

•difficulty  in  obtaining  them  of  late,  have  been 
in  the  habit  of  preparing  them  ourselves  by  slight- 
ly warming  a  common  tallow  dip  and  dusting 
strychnine  over  the  surface.  The  advantage  of 
applying  it  in  this  manner  is  that  candles  are  not 
affected  as  food  by  either  human  beings  or  domes- 
tic animals,  and  that  thus  the  danger  always  to 
be  dreaded  when  using  virulent  poisons  is  almost 
entirely  avoided.  If,  on  examining  the  trays,  the 
spawn  which  was  left  neatly  arranged  decently 
and  in  order  upon  the  grilles,  is  found  heaped  or 
disturbed,  the  presence  of  rats  or  mice  may  be 
suspected. 

The  study  of  the  development  of  the  fish  in  the 
egg,  from  the  first  day  of  incubation  to  the  emerg- 
ence of  the  young  fish,  is  one  of  great  interest, 
though  in  our  own  country  but  little  has  been 
done  in  this  direction,  few  to  whom  the  opportu- 
nity is  given  having  the  time,  patience,  or  scientific 
knowledge  necessary.  The  work  of  Mr.  Yogt  * 
contains  all  that  is  known  upon  the  subject,  and 
to  this  we  must  refer  the  scientific  fish  culturist, 
confining  ourselves  only  to  those  changes  which 
appear  to  the  naked  eye,  or  beneath  the  power  of 
an  ordinary  lens  of  from  one  to  two  inches  focus. 
For  examination  the  eggs  should  be  placed  in  a 

*  Embryologie  des  Salmones,  8vo,  with  Atlas  folio.    Neufchatel,  1842. 


94  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

thin  homeopathic  vial  of  water,  and  held  between 
the  observer  and  the  light.  Bright  sunlight  should 
be  avoided,  the  best  illumination  being  given  by 
the  reflection  of  the  sun's  rays  from  a  white  cloud. 
When  first  placed  in  the  tray,  the  entire  egg  is 
filled  with  a  gelatinous  substance,  on  which  float 
minute  granules  and  oil  globules.  Turn  the  egg 
as  you  will,  and  still  they  will  rise  to  the  top.  No 
trace  of  division  between  the  yolk  and  white  ap- 
pears until  the  second  day,  when  the  granules  and 
globules  will  be  found  to  have  separated  them- 
selves into  a  minute  drop  in  the  center  of  the 
egg,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  a  transparent, 
colorless  zone,  in  which  it  freely  floats.  About 
the  fifth  day  a  small  prominence  will  appear  upon 
the  top  of  this  yolk,  which  will  increase  in  size 
daily.  About  the  twelfth  day  an  indentation  may 
be  observed  in  this  protuberance,  and  an  almost 
imperceptible  line  will  be  seen  running  from  it. 
Daily  with  the  naked  eye,  and  hourly  beneath 
the  microscope,  this  line  will  be  seen  to  increase  in 
length  and  breadth.  It  is  the  chorda  dor  sails  or 
spinal  cord,  the  rudiment  of  the  nervous  system 
of  the  future  fish.  About  the  eighteenth  day  it 
has  extended  around  one-half  the  yolk,  one  end 
destined  to  form  the  tail  being  pointed,  while  the 
other,  forming  the  head,  is  flattened  and  thick- 
ened. On  the  twentieth  day  the  eyes  appear,  aiid 


INCUBATION.  95 

from  this  time  the  growth  of  the  fish  is  rapid. 
At  the  temperature  of  50°  the  eggs  hatch  in  from 
forty-five  to  fifty  days — this  period  is  lengthened 
by  a  lower,  and  accelerated  by  a  higher  tempera- 
ture. 

A  short  time  previous  to  hatching,  the  investing 
membrane  of  the  egg  becomes  yellowish-brown 
in  color,  and  a  floss-like  coating  envelops  it,  re- 
minding one  by  its  appearance  of  the  much- 
dreaded  byssus.  The  movements  of  the  fish, 
which  may  have  been  noted  as  early  as  the 
thirtieth  day,  become  more  and  more  rapid.  The 
previously  noticed  movements  were  gentle  mo- 
tions of  the  tail,  but  now  the  whole  body  seems 
violently  convulsed.  At  length,  with  a  violent 
effort,  the  shell  is  broken,  and  the  little  fish  is 
born.  What  part  first  appears  to  the  external 
world  is  a  matter  of  perfect  indifference.  We  well 
remember  the  consternation  of  one  of  our  custom- 
ers on  the  occasion  of  a  whole  tray  of  eggs  hatch- 
ing tail  foremost,  when  the  only  work  on  fish  cul- 
ture in  his  possession,  and  in  which  he  had  placed 
the  most  implicit  confidence,  declared  that  the 
head  invariably  appeared  first.  By  concentrating 
upon  the  mature  egg  the  sun' s  rays,  by  means  of 
a  lens,  the  birth  may  be  hastened,  and  the  efforts 
of  the  fish,  by  which  the  shell  is  ruptured,  plainly 
seen.  This  can  only  be  done  as  an  experiment,  as 


96  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

the  forced  birth  is  generally  fatal  to  the  fish. 
Head,  tail,  back,  and  even  the  yolk  sac  may  first 
appear.  After  breaking  the  shell  it  frequently 
happens  that  before  emerging  entirely  the  troutlet 
rests  for  a  short  time,  apparently  for  the  pur- 
pose of  regaining  its  strength  exhausted  by  its 
labors.  Some  writers  have  recommended  that  the 
shell  be  removed  in  this  case,  by  gently  passing 
over  the  body  of  the  fish  a  fine  camel  hair  brush. 
This,  in  our  hands,  has  not  been  successful,  med- 
dlesome midwifery  being  followed  by  its  usual 
results.  If  the  fishes  are  strong  and  healthy  they 
will  in  time  clear  themselves,  and  if  not,  they  will 
surely  die  in  a  short  time. 

The  egg  shells  having  fulfilled  the  purpose  for 
which  they  were  designed,  become  dirt;  and  if 
the  gravel  troughs  are  used  must  be  carefully 
picked  out  with  the  bulb  syringe,  as  by  their  de- 
composition the  health  of  the  young  fry  may  be 
seriously  affected.  If  the  Caron  trays  be  used, 
they  are  for  the  most  part  carried  away  by  the 
current  through  some  fall  between  the  interstices 
of  the  tubes.  The  young  fish  moves  along  the 
grille  until  finding  an  opening  large  enough  to 
admit  of  the  passage  of  his  body,  he  falls  through 
to  the  tray  beneath  ;  and  by  removing  the  cork  at 
the  end  of  the  tray  can  be  drawn  off  into  a  pan. 
In  this  operation  the  utmost  delicacy  is  required. 


INCUBATION.  97 

The  membrane  of  the  sac  is  scarcely  thicker  than 
a  spider' s  web,  and  as  easily  ruptured.  With  the 
fishes  will  be  carried  by  the  water  into  the  pan 
egg  shells  and  other  dirt.  By  careful  manipula- 
tion the  lighter  dirt  may  be  floated  off,  and  the  re- 
mainder must  be  picked  out  with  the  bulb  syringe. 
Remember  that  three  weeks  at  least  must  elapse 
before  the  gravel  upon  which  the  young  are  placed 
can  be  washed,  and  that  every  particle  of  dirt 
must  be  scrupulously  removed.  If  no  nursery 
trough  has  been  provided,  the  fishes  may  be 
reared  for  some  time  in  the  tray.  For  this  the 
grille  is  removed,  the  box  thoroughly  washed,  and 
the  bottom  covered  with  fine  gravel — not  only 
washed,  but  boiled,  that  all  larvae  of  insects  may 
be  destroyed.  Upon  this  should  the  troutlets  be 
placed,  and  a  gentle  current  of  water  allowed  to 
flow  over  them.  Should,  however,  nursery -troughs 
have  been  provided,  they  may  be  prepared  in  the 
same  manner,  taking  care  that  the  wood  work  be 
not  only  washed,  but  scalded.  Our  nursery- 
troughs  are  thirty  feet  long,  fourteen  inches  wide, 
and  three  deep.  By  screens  of  fine  copper  wire 
gauze,  or  iron  well  coated  with  asphalt  varnish, 
they  are  divided  into  compartments  one  foot 
in  length,  each  compartment  being  of  sufficient 
capacity  for  the  accommodation  of  fifteen  hun- 
dred fishes,  though  one  thousand  only  are  usually 

5 


98  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

placed  in  them.  The  supply  of  water  must  be 
carefully  regulated ;  if  too  strong  a  current  is  in- 
duced, the  fish  will  be  carried  against  the  dividing 
screens  and  destroyed  ;  the  amount  in  every  case 
can  only  be  ascertained  by  experiment.  Com- 
mence by  occupying  the  uppermost  divisions ;  the 
great  importance  of  this  will  be  seen  when  we  treat 
of  the  care  of  the  young. 


CARE  OF  YOUNG  IN  HATCHING-HOUSE.          99 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

CARE  OF  YOUNG   IN  HATCHING-HOUSE. 

THE  appearance  of  the  young  trout  when  first 
emerged  from  the  egg  is  grotesque  and  curious  in 
the  extreme.  A  thin,  semi-transparent  line  about 
three-quarters  of  an  inch  in  length,  one  end 
pointed,  the  other  knotted  and  furnished  with  two 
comparatively  enormous  eyes  widely  separated 
from  each  other,  compose  the  body  of  the  fish.  To 
the  lower  portion  of  this  body,  extending  from  the 


FIG.  21.— TROUT  AT  BIRTH. 

throat  backward  to  fully  one-half  its  length,  is  a 
huge,  vascular,  transparent  sac  covered  with  a  fine 
net- work  of  blood-vessels  through  which  the  blood 
maybe  seen  flowing,  all  tending  from  a  minute  deep 
crimson  red  spot,  the  heart  of  the  little  fish.  No 
traces  of  fins  except  the  pectoral  are  to  be  seen ;  the 


100        PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

gill-covers  have  not  yet  appeared,  and  four  lines  on 
either  side  of  the  throat  represent  the  future  gills. 
The  motions  of  the  little  creature  are  slow ;  borne 
down  by  the  weight  of  his  huge  appendage,  com- 
monly known  as  the  umbilical  vessicle,  but  more 
properly  as  the  yolk  sac,  he  seeks  quiet  and 
hides  himself  among  the  gravel.  Strange  as  the 
sac  may  appear  to  others,  to  him  it  is  a  matter 
of  vital  importance.  It  is  the  food  upon  which  he 
is  nourished  during  the  first  six  weeks  of  his  ex- 
istence. He  requires  no  other,  will  accept  of 
none ;  but  hides  himself  from  view  and  only  de- 
sires to  be  severely  let  alone. 

But  the  labors  of  the  fish  culturist  know  no 
rest.  Many  at  this  stage  may  die,  and  some  surely 
will.  Daily  must  the  nursery  be  thoroughly  ex- 
amined and  all  dead  removed?  The  bulb  syringe 
here  again  comes  into  play.  To  facilitate  the  ex- 
amination of  the  troughs,  a  watch-maker's  mag- 
nifying glass,  firmly  attached  to  the  eye  by  a 
broad  india-rubber  band  passing  around  the  fore- 
head, will  be  found  of  great  service.  Care  and  at- 
tention is  now  absolutely  necessary  ;  neglect  will 
certainly  be  followed  by  heavy  loss — the  dreaded 
byssus  forming  upon  all  dead  animal  matter  and 
filling  the  waters  with  its  almost  imperceptible 
fibers.  To  aid  its  feeble  respiration,  the  pectoral 
fins  of  the  young  fish  are  in  constant,  rapid  mo- 


CARE   OF  YOUNG  IN   HATCHING-HOUSE.        101 

tion,  driving  the  water  toward  its  as  yet  unpro- 
tected gills.  Should  the  fibers  of  the  byssus  be 
present,  they  are  driven  directly  into  the  gills,  res- 
piration is  impeded,  and  the  fish  dies.  A  warm 
hatching-house,  dry  floor,  and  bulb  syringe,  com- 
bined with  a  keen  eye  and  patience,  are  now  all 
necessary.  As  the  fishes  increase  in  size  they  may 
be  more  plainly  seen,  "but  the  care  and  attention 
njow  commenced  will  be  constantly  required  until 
the  fishes  are  removed  to  the  pond. 

At  the  end  of  the  fifth  week  of  life  the  appear- 
ance of  the  fish  is  as  in  Fig.  22.     The  yolk  sac  is 


FIG.  28. 

still  present,  though  its  dimensions  have  been 
greatly  reduced.  The  fins  may  be  all  plainly  seen, 
and  even  their  rays  counted.  The  gills  are  entirely 
covered  by  the  gill-covers,  and,  in  short,  the 
whole  appearance  is  more  fishlike  than  that  of  the 
nondescript  of  Fig.  21.  From  this  period  the  sac 
rapidly  diminishes,  but  it  is  not  until  from  the 
forty-fifth  to  the  fiftieth  day  after  hatching  that  it 
is  entirely  absorbed,  and  the  fish  emerges  into  the 


102  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

full  glory  of  trouthood,  becoming  an  independent 
member  of  the  great  animal  kingdom,  and  experi- 
encing the  sensation  of  hunger  which  must  be  ap- 
peased. 

And  now  for  the  first  time  we  encounter  the  food 
question,  that  great  problem  on  which  depends, 
in  a  great  measure,  the  future  success  of  fish 
culture.  This  has  been  at  length  solved  for  the 
troutlet,  while  for  the  adult  a  proper,  cheap,  and 
healthful  food  is  still  a  thing  of  the  future.  In 
nature  the  troutlets  are  provided  with  food  by  the 
numerous  larvao  and  adult  insects  which  abound 
in  all  waters,  as  is  shown  by  examination  of  their 
stomachs ;  but  these  it  is  as  yet  beyond  our  power 
to  procure,  and  we,  at  best,  can  only  provide  a 
substitute.  Curd,  that  universal  food  of  theoret- 
ical fish-farmers,  has  been  tried  both  by  ourselves 
and  others,  and  in  many  cases  has  acted  as  an  act- 
ual poison,  one  gentleman  having  lost  five  thou- 
sand fishes,  before  the  cause  of  death  was  sus- 
pected, the  mortality  ceasing  on  a  proper  food  be- 
ing supplied.  Boiled  yolk  of  egg  has  been  highly 
recommended,  but  is  objectionable  on  account 
of  the  great  amount  of  deleterious  gases  evolved 
by  its  putrefaction.  Boiled  meats  have  been  used 
with  success  after  having  been  pressed  and  grated, 
but  by  boiling  much  of  the  nutritive  material  is 
lost.  After  giving  all  these  and  many  other  sub- 


CARE  OF  YOUNG   IN  HATCHING-HOUSE.        103 

stances  a  fair  trial,  by  feeding  them  alternately  to 
our  fry  and  carefully  noting  the  result,  we  at 
length  devised  a  plan  which  in  our  hands,  and  in 
the  hands  of  all  who  have  tried  it,  has  thus  far 
succeeded  perfectly. 

A  beef's  heart  or  kidney  is  taken,  and  with  a 
sharp  knife  cut  in  pieces  about  an  inch  square. 
If  heart  is  used,  all  skin,  arteries,  valves,  and 
other  fibrous  portions  which  can  not  be  readily 
cut  are  rejected.  The  pieces  are  then  moistened 
with  water  and  chopped  to  a  pulp.  This  was  for- 
merly done  with  a  hatchet  and  knife — a  work  of 
no  small  labor.  We  now  accomplish  it  by  means 
of  the  "  American  Chopper,"  of  which  a  cut  is 
annexed  (Fig.  23). 


FIG.  23. 

We  have  tried  other  choppers,  but  this  alone 
has  given  perfect  satisfaction.  Not  only  is  the 
meat  thoroughly,  quickly,  and  minutely  chopped, 
but  the  machine  is  simple,  not  liable  to  get  out  of 


104  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

order,  and  can  be  in  a  moment  taken  apart  and 
cleaned — a  matter  of  no  small  importance  in  hot 
weather.  A  pound  of  heart  can  be  cut  by  this 
in  about  seven  minutes  sufficiently  fine  for  the 
smallest  trout.  Should  any  coagulated  blood  be 
found  in  the  heart,  it  may  be  thrown  into  the 
chopper  with  it.  Yet,  still  some  minute  fragments 
of  fibrous  tissue  may  remain,  and  to  remove  these, 
as  well  as  to  be  sure  that  all  the  meat  is  chopped 
sufficiently  fine,  the  pulp  is  mixed  with  w:it«»r  and 
washed  (not  rubbed)  through  a  fine  wire  sieve  of 
twenty-eight  threads  to  the  inch.  By  this  means 
all  fragments  over  about  one-fiftieth  of  an  inch  in 
diameter  are  retained  and  may  be  returned  to  tho 
chopper  for  further  comminution.  Copper  wire 
for  the  sieve  is  objectionable,  as  the  oxide  or  rust, 
which  forms  rapidly  upon  it  in  the  damp  atmos- 
phere of  the  hatching-house,  will  act  as  a  direct 
poison  upon  the  young  fishes.  The  same  fault  is 
found  in  brass.  Iron  rusts  rapidly  if  not  cleaned 
and  dried  with  the  greatest  care.  We  have  found 
the  tinned  iron  to  answer  well  if  well  washed  and 
dried  after  use.  One  piece  will  last  a  season. 

After  washing  through  the  sieve,  allow  the  pulp 
to  stand  for  a  few  minutes,  and  the  meat  will  have 
settled  to  the  bottom  of  the  pan ;  pour  off  the 
clear  water  and  the  meat  is  ready  to  be  fed  to  the 
young  fishes.  But  in  the  feeding  great  care  must 


CARE   OF  YOUNG  IN   HATCHING-HOUSE.        105 

be  exercised.  Enough  must  be  given  to  satisfy 
hunger  and  no  more,  as  any  particles,  however 
minute,  if  allowed  to  fall  to  the  bottom  will  rapidly 
decompose  and  foul  the  water,  seriously  affecting 
the  health  of  the  fry,  as  the  fragments  are  too 
small  to  be  detected  and  removed.  The  bulb  syr- 
inge here  again  comes  into  use.  Drawing  into  it  a 
small  quantity  of  the  pulp,  the  operator  proceeds 
to  the  uppermost  of  the  compartments  of  the 
nursery  or  hatching-trays  and  carefully  drops  a 
single  drop  into  the  water  ;  the  minute  fragments 
of  meat  are  at  once  seized  by  the  fry,  and  when 
they  have  entirely  disappeared,  another  drop  is 
administered  ;  thus  in  minute  quantities  is  the 
minutely  divided  food  given,  and  when  the  occu- 
pants of  one  compartment  are  satiated,  the  same 
process  is  repeated  with  the  next.  The  meat  being 
readily  digestible,  the  young  should,  from  the 
time  of  the  absorption  of  the  sac  to  the  period  at 
which  they  are  turned  into  the  pond,  be  fed  twice 
a  day.  As  may  be  seen,  the  care  of  fifty  thou- 
sand young  trout  is  no  child's  play.  It  has  been 
stated  that  any  boy  of  fourteen  years,  of  ordinary 
capacity,  is  capable  of  taking  entire  charge  of  the 
young  fishes ;  but  we  have  never  as  yet  met  with 
one  we  would  be  willing  to  trust.  Not  only  man- 
ual labor,  but  skill  and,  above  all,  patience  are 
required.  The  temptation  to  hurry  over  the  work, 

5* 


106  PRACTICAL  TROUT   CULTURE. 

especially  in  a  damp,  cold  hatching-house,  is  too 
great  for  it  to  be  trusted  to  any  but  faithful  and 
well-tried  operators.  The  insufficient  chopping  of 
the  meat,  the  rubbing  instead  of  washing  of  the 
pulp  through  the  sieve,  or  the  throwing  of  it  in  too 
large  quantities  into  the  troughs  or  trays  would 
be  attended  with  severe  loss.  Like  photography, 
fish  culture  is  composed  of  numerous  operations, 
the  improper  performance  of  any  one  of  which  will 
insure  failure  in  the  end.  We  speak  that  we 
do  know,  and  testify  that  we  have  seen. 

The  period  at  which  the  young  fishes  are  to  be 
removed  from  the  hatching-house  varies  according 
to  circumstances.  If  they  are  intended  for  stock- 
ing a  stream  amply  provided  with  insects,  their 
natural  food,  they  may  be  turned  loose  as  soon 
as  they  have  learned  to  feed,  say  two  weeks  after 
the  absorption  of  the  sac  ;  but  if  for  ponds,  it  is 
well  to  keep  them  some  six  weeks  longer.  During 
our  first  experiments  in  fish  culture,  we,  follow- 
ing the  advice  of  others,  retained  them  in  the 
troughs  for  six  months,  but  a  number  escaping 
into  a  pond  showed  by  their  rapid  growth  that 
fresh  air  and  exercise  were  equally  beneficial  {o 
fishes  as  to  other  animals.  Though  abundantly 
supplied  with  food,  the  fishes  retained  in  the  troughs 
were  at  the  end  of  six  months  less  than  half  the 
size  of  their  brethren  in  the  pond.  If  turned  out 


CAKE   OF  YOUNG  IN  HATCHING-HOUSE.        107 

too  soon,  they  seem  not  to  have  acquired  sufficient 
strength  to  earn  their  own  living  ;  if  too  late,  they 
are  stunted  in  their  growth — the  happy  medium, 
as  before  mentioned,  is  about  two  months.  After 
the  first  few  days  of  feeding,  the  gravel  should  be 
carefully  but  thoroughly  washed.  Turn  on  as 
strong  a  current  of  water  as  the  fishes  can  bear, 
and  gently  place  the  hand  in  the  water  at  the 
upper  part  of  the  topmost  compartment  of  the 
nursery-trough.  The  fishes  will  crowd  downward 
toward  the  screen.  Slowly  stir  the  gravel  with  the 
hand,  avoiding  all  sudden  motions,  until  all  dirt 
is  carried  downward ;  then  place  the  hand  in  the 
lower  part,  when  the  fishes  will  ascend  upon  the 
portion  cleaned,  and  repeat  the  operation.  If  the 
dirt  is  not  carried  through  the  screens,  it  may  be 
rubbed  through ;  any  large  pieces,  which  will 
sometimes  find  their  way  into  the  troughs  spite  of 
all  care,  may  be  removed  with  the  bulb  syringe. 
This  tedious  but  important  process  should  be  re- 
peated at  least  as  often  as  every  third  day.  If  the 
trays  be  used,  the  fish  may  be  drawn  out  by 
removing  the  cork,  and  replaced  after  thoroughly 
washing  the  tray. 

Sometimes,  as  has  more  than  once  happened  to 
us,  in  spite  of  all  our  care,  a  sudden  epidemic 
will  break  out  among  the  fry  in  the  troughs. 
They  may  all  appear  in  the  evening  perfectly 


108  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

healthy,  yet  in  the  morning  the  dividing  screens 
between  the  compartments  are  found  clogged  with 
the  dead  and  dying.  Unless  the  cause  of  this  can 
be  immediately  traced,  at  once  remove  the  fry  to 
the  pond,  and  then  investigate  the  matter  at  your 
leisure,  and  guard  against  a  similar  misfortune  (if 
discovered)  in  future.  Better  a  crop  of  stunted 
fishes  than  no  crop.  There  are  many  as  yet  un- 
known causes  which  result  in  the  death  of  young 
fishes ;  and  the  fish  culturist,  after  years  of  experi- 
ence, may  find  himself  at  his  wit' s  end  to  explain  the 
cause  of  a  sudden  mortality.  We  have  all  much 
to  learn.  The  science  (for  science  it  is),  is  yet  but 
in  its  infancy  ;  and  he  who  declares  that  he  knows 
all  about  fishes  and  fish  culture  must  be  classed 
with  him  who  boasts  that  he  can  by  his  nostrums 
cure  all  ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to.  The  good  of  self, 
and  not  of  the  fish-raising  community,  is  too  much 
sought.  Already  is  the  progress  of  fish  culture 
impeded  by  the  registration  of  a  number  of  pat- 
ents, many  of  which  are  of  a  most  ridiculous  char- 
acter. Give  and  take  should  be  our  motto  ;  and 
were  the  example  of  Mr.  Ainsworth  *  followed  by 
all,  our  progress  toward  perfection  would  be  much 
more  rapid.  We  have  ourselves  made  more  than 
one  invention  upon  which  a  patent  might  have 

*  Vifo  bis  letter,  page  19. 


CARE  OF  YOUNG  IN  HATCHING-HOUSE.        109 

been  obtained,  but  from  principle,  doing  as  we 
would  be  done  by,  have  presented  them  to  the 
public.  The  inventor  of  an  article  like  the  Collins 
spawning  race  may  be  pardoned  for  obtaining  a 
patent,  but  patent  charred  troughs,  gauze  spawn- 
carriers,  and  like  trifles,  are  simply  ridiculous ; 
and  it  is  doubtful  if  any  have  as  yet  realized  suffi- 
cient from  the  sale  of  "  rights  "  to  pay  the  expense 
incurred  in  filing  their  caveats.  We  are  pleased 
to  see  that  much  more  cordiality  and  friendship 
now  exists  between  the  brethren  of  the  spawning 
race  than  formerly.  The  days  when  visitors  to 
Troutdale  concealed  the  fact  that  they  were  them- 
selves engaged  in  fish  culture,  and  even  accepted 
its  hospitality  under  assumed  names,  fearing  in 
their  ignorance  that  were  the  truth  known  they 
would  be  unable  to  gain  desired  information,  have 
happily  passed  away  ;  and  with  few  exceptions  a 
pleasant  acquaintance,  if  not  personal  friendship, 
exists,  as  it  should  between  all  American  fish  cul- 
turists.  The  formation  of  the  American  Piscicul- 
tural  Association,  under  the  presidency  of  our 
friend  and  pupil,  Rev.  W.  Clift,  has  done  much 
toward  assisting  in  this  direction. 


110  PRACTICAL  TROUT   CULTURE. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

FIRST  TEAR. 

THE  preparation  of  the  pond  for  the  reception  of 
the  young  fry  should  be  completed  during  the 
previous  autumn.  Our  first  spawn  are  always 
taken  about  November  1st,  hatching  about  De- 
cember 10th ;  the  absorption  of  the  sac  is  con- 
cluded February  1st,  and  they  are  ready  for  the 
pond  April  1st.  Our  first  pond  is  prepared  for  tlw 
coming  crop  by  removing  that  of  the  previous 
year  ;  this  is  done  by  drawing  down  the  water  as 
far  as  possible,  mowing  with  a  sharp  scythe  tho 
water-plants,  with  which  the  bottom  is  thickly  cov- 
ered, and  raking  them  out.  It  is  stated  by  theo- 
retical pisciculturists  that  on  opening  the  gate  and 
removing  the  screen  at  the  lower  end  of  the  pond, 
the  fishes  will  pass  down  into  the  next,  but  in 
practice  the  reverse  is  the  case ;  the  fishes  from 
the  lower  pond  will  ascend,  but  not  a  single  one 
will  descend,  the  tendency  of  the  fishes  being  up 
stream  instead  of  down  stream.  They  must  there- 
fore be  removed  with  a  net ;  and  as  many  of  the 
fishes  are  very  small,  the  best  material  for  the 


FIRST  YEAR.  Ill 

purpose  is  common  mosquito  netting.     Of  this  we 
use  the  odds  and  ends  which  have  done  duty 
during  the  previous  season  in  covering  our  paint- 
ings,  mirrors,   and  chandeliers.     These  are  sewn 
together,   forming  a  net    about  two  and  a  half 
feet  deep  and  three  feet  wider  than  our  pond ;  a 
well- weighted  lead-line  is  attached  to  the  bottom, 
and  a  few  wooden  floats  sewn  to  the  top  ;  at  each 
end  a  stick  or  brail  is  tacked,  and  the  net  is  ready 
for  use.    The  net  is  dropped  into  the  water  at  the 
lower  end  of  the  pond,  and,  holding  the  brails  per- 
pendicularly, is  slowly  moved  by  two  men,  one  on 
each  side,  toward  the  inlet.     The  object  of  mowing 
the  ponds  is  now  apparent ;  were  the  weeds  not 
removed,  the  lead-line  would  be  held  up  by  them, 
and  the  fishes  allowed  to  escape  beneath.     When 
the  inlet  of  the  pond  is  reached,  the  net  is  suddenly 
raised  from  a  perpendicular  to  a  horizontal  posi- 
tion,* and  in  this  manner  carried  to  the  second 
pond  and  its  contents  emptied.     This  process  is  re- 
peated again  and  again  until  every  fish  is  removed. 
The  trout  is  a  sad  cannibal,  as  a  writer  truly  re- 
marks (Harpers"  Weekly,  June  13,  1868).     Dog,  it 
is  said,  will  not  eat  dog ;  but,  when  other  food  was 
wanting,  we  have  seen  in  our  hatching-troughs  a 
trout  of  one  and  a  half  inches  in  length  seize  and 
devour  his  brother  of  one  inch ;  what,  therefore, 
would  be  the  result  if  a  (comparative)  monster  of 


112  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

five  inches  in  length  was  allowed  free  quarters 
among  our  youngsters  ? 

By  removing  the  last  year's  fishes  thus  early,  we 
find  in  April  that  not  only  have  the  plants  again 
grown,  covering  the  bottom  with  a  green  carpet, 
but  the  microscope  reveals  every  leaf  and  twig  cov- 
ered with  larvae  and  minute  insects.  Many  of 
these  are  they  whose  attacks  were  so  much  feared 
in  the  hatching-house ;  but  the  danger  from  them 
has  passed,  and  the  danger  to  them,  which  we  care 
not  to  prevent,  will  soon  commence.  These  are 
the  proper  food  of  the  troutlet,  and  the  greater  their 
number  in  the  pond,  the  greater  will  be  our  suc- 
cess. For  removing  fishes  from  the  nursery,  we  use 
a  net  with  a  frame  of  the  shape  represented  in  Fig. 
24  The  bottom  (A)  being  equal  in  width  to  the 


Fio.  21 

width  of  our  nursery-troughs,  and  the  height  twice 
their  depth.  With  this  the  entire  contents  of  a 
compartment  may  be  removed  at  once,  emptied 
with,  care  into  a  basin  of  water,  and  transferred  to 
the  pond,  where  they  at  once  dart  rapidly  tlirough 
the  water,  apparently  delighted  with  their  new 
quarters. 


FIRST  YEAR.  113 

The  future  growth  of  the  fish  depends  much 
upon  the  supply  of  food  given  during  the  first 
year.  Should  the  supply  for  the  ponds  at  any 
time  be  scant,  preference  should  be  given  to  the 
youngest  fishes.  One  good  meal  per  diem  will  be 
all  that  is  required,  but  should  that  be  omitted,  the 
proprietor  suffers.  The  trout  will  have  food,  and 
if  no  other  is  afforded,  it  is  obtained  at  the  expense 
of  the  life  of  some  weaker  brother,  who  thus  suf- 
fers for  sins  not  his  own.  !N"o  trout  will  starve 
while  others  of  one-third  less  dimensions  are  to  be 
found  in  the  same  pond. 

The  heart  or  kidney  used  as  food  should  for 
some  time  still  be  sifted,  though  a  sieve  may  be 
used  of  larger  mesh,  and  at  the  end  of  six  months 
entirely  abandoned.  If  it  is  possible,  however,  it 
may  be  replaced  by  roe  of  fishes,  which  is  perhaps 
at  this  stage  better,  though  somewhat  difficult  to 
obtain.  When  used  it  should  be  rubbed  under 
water  between  the  hands,  that  the  investing  mem- 
brane be  broken  up  and  the  eggs  thoroughly  sep- 
arated. 

As  the  weather  becomes  warmer,  maggots  should 
be  fed,  these  most  disgusting,  but  to  the  fish  cul- 
turist  most  valuable,  creatures  being  the  nearest 
approach  to  the  natural  food  of  the  trout  that  can 
be  obtained.  Several  methods  have  been  devised 
for  procuring  them.  In  one,  a  box  is  constructed, 


114  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

three  feet  high  and  two  feet  square  ;  in  the  bottom 
is  placed  a  drawer,  about  four  inches  deep,  and 
above  this  a  strong  wire  grating,  the  wires  being 
about  an  inch  apart.  Numerous  holes,  one-half 
inch  in  diameter,  are  bored  in  the  sides  above  the 
drawer,  and  the  whole  is  surmounted  by  a  cover. 
In  this,  above  the  grating,  any  offal  is  thrown. 
The  maggots  on  attaining  their  full  size  drop 
through  the  grating  to  the  drawer  beneath,  which 
can  at  any  time  be  removed  and  its  contents  emptied 
into  the  pond.  This  apparatus  has  been  chris- 
tened, by  a  facetious  visitor,  the  Maggotometer.* 

But  the  emptying  of  the  drawer  is  by  no  means 
a  pleasant  task,  and  the  old-fashioned  method  of 
suspending  offal  from  a  wire  directly  over  the 
pond,  thus  allowing  the  maggots  to  drop,  as  it 
were,  directly  into  the  mouths  of  the  fishes,  is  per- 
haps preferable.  But  to  this  there  are  many  ob- 
jections. A  piece  of  rotten  meat  covered  with 
myriads  of  crawling  maggots  is  by  no  means  an 
attractive  object.  The  "  maggotometer "  may  be 
placed  at  some  distance,  that  the  odor  may  not 
affect  the  nostrils  of  visitors,  but  the  suspended 
piece  must  be  directly  over  the  ponds.  Again, 
dogs  will  make  violent  efforts  to  obtain  the,  to 

*  This  word  is  not  philologically  correct,  but  as  the  term  gasom- 
eter is  universally  applied  to  an  apparatus  for  holding  and  distrib- 
uting gas,  it  may  not  be  deemed  inappropriate. 


FIRST   YEAR.  115 

them,  tempting  morsel,  and  disturbance  of  the 
ponds  at  least  will  take  place.  Most  of  these  evils 
can  be  avoided  by  placing  over  the  offal  a  nail- 
keg,  upside  down  ;  through  a  hole  in  the  inverted 
bottom  passes  a  strong  wire,  hooked  at  each  ex- 
tremity ;  on  one  end  is  placed  the  offal,  the  other 
hooks  upon  a  wire  supported  by  posts  and  pass- 
ing over  the  pond  ;  a  few  half-inch  holes  are  bored 
in  the  sides  to  afford  easy  access  to  the  flies.  By 
this  arrangement  not  only  is  the  offal  protected, 
but,  being  shaded,  it  does  not  dry  up  as  speedily 
as  when  exposed  to  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun.  It 
is  out  of  sight,  and  the  odor  is,  to  say  the  least, 
greatly  diminished.  The  importance  of  this  vari- 
ety of  food  can  not  be  over-estimated.  It  is  the 
nearest  approach  which  we  can  obtain  to  the  in- 
sects which  form  so  great  a  part  of  the  food  of 
trout  in  streams,  and  even  if  some  inconvenience 
to  the  eyes  and  nostrils  is  occasioned  by  it,  must 
be  in  some  way  supplied.  During  one  season, 
disgusted  by  the  odor,  we  depended  upon  an  in- 
creased supply  of  meat  as  food  for  our  young 
trout,  omitting  entirely  the  maggots ;  but  the  small 
size  attained  by  the  fishes  during  the  year,  less 
than  half  that  of  the  preceding,  when  less  meat 
and  more  maggots  were  fed,  warned  us  not  to 
repeat  the  experiment. 
The  supply  of  water  should  be  carefully  regu- 


116  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

lated.  If  too  much  current  is  given  through  the 
pond  the  weaker  fishes  will  be  carried  against  the 
lower  screen,  their  gill-covers  closed  by  the  press- 
ure of  the  water,  and  death  soon  ensue.  If  too 
little  is  afforded,  they  may  die  from  want  of  suffi- 
cient oxygen.  The  plants  previously  mentioned 
here  again  perform  good  service — in  oxygenating 
the  water,  a  less  current  being  allowable  in  a  pond 
whose  bottom  is  completely  covered  with  aquatic 
vegetation  than  in  one  in  which  the  bottom  is  bare. 
It  is  well  that  a  constant  watch  be  kept  over  the 
pond  during  the  first  day  after  the  transfer  of  the 
fry,  and  the  current  regulated  by  observation. 
No  rule  can  be  given  on  this  point ;  practice  and 
observation  can  alone  suffice. 

As  the  interstices  of  the  fish  screen  must,  of 
course,  be  very  small,  they  will  readily  become 
clogged  with  dirt,  which  will,  spite  of  all  care, 
find  its  way  into  the  water.  Summer  and  win- 
ter, every  high  wind  will  blow  into  the  pond  a 
quantity  of  straws,  leaves,  and  other  rubbish 
which,  if  allowed  to  accumulate  upon  the  fish 
screen,  would  soon  entirely  close  it,  damming  the 
current,  and  causing  an  overflow.  To  prevent  this, 
the  leaf  screens  mentioned  on  page  38  must  be 
placed  above  the  fish  screens,  and  if  much  trash 
finds  its  way  into  the  pond,  two  and  sometimes  three 
of  these  will  be  required.  To  clean  these,  raise 


FIRST  YEAH.  117 

them  carefully  out  of  their  grooves,  and  by  slightly 
tapping  them  against  the  sides  of  the  sluice-gate 
all  dirt  will  fall  off.  If  they  are  strongly  mader 
as  they  should  be,  and  are  not  hammered  vith 
violence,  they  will  last  for  years  ;  but  for  the  first 
six  months  at  least  the  fish  screen  must  not  be 
raised.  The  larger  fragments  are  to  be  picked  off 
from  it  by  hand,  and  a  common  scrubbing-brush, 
attached  to  a  handle  about  two  feet  long,  will 
either  rub  through  the  remainder  of  the  dirt  or 
collect  it  together  so  that  it  can  be  readily  removed 
with  the  hands.  As  previously  mentioned,  trout 
in  ponds  always  seek  to  ascend,  and  the  removal 
of  the  fish  screen,  though  but  for  a  moment,  is  the 
signal  of  advance  to  the  fishes  of  a  lower  pond. 
Should  any  larger  fishes  be  seen  in  the  pond  in 
which  the  youngest  are  kept,  they  must  be  at 
once  removed,  even  if  it  is  necessary  to  kill  them 
in  so  doing.  The  number  of  three  month's  old 
fishes  which  can  be  eaten  in  a  short  time  by  a  trout . 
of  the  previous  year  is  enormous.  Copper  wire 
only  should  be  used  for  the  fish  screens,  as  iron, 
however  well  painted,  will  rust  out  in  a  few  months, 
leaving  gaps  through  which  the  older  fishes  can  as- 
cend. Twice  a  day,  morning  and  evening,  should 
the  screens  be  examined  and  thoroughly  cleaned, 
and  duplicates  should  always  be  on  hand  to  replace 
them  in  case  of  accident. 


118  PEACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

At  this  period  are  the  attacks  of  birds,  "both 
wild  and  tame,  to  be  especially  guarded  against. 
We  have  taken  eighty -five  young  trout  from  tin*. 
stomach  of  a  tame  duck  shot  on  our  ponds,  and 
the  number  which  would  have  been  swallowed 
had  she  been  left  unmolested  would  undoubtedly 
have  been  much  greater.  It  is  well  for  fish  cultur- 
ists  to  keep  an  eye  upon  the  aquatic  poultry  owned 
by  their  neighbors.  The  kingfisher  is  a  perma- 
nent nuisance,  and  the  great  fish-hawk,  during  the 
spring  and  early  summer,  is  an  epicure  whose 
fastidious  taste  is  only  to  be  satisfied  by  the  larg- 
est and  nnest  trout  in  your  ponds.  A  well-loaded 
gun  should  be  always  kept  in  readiness  in  some 
convenient  place  for  the  accommodation  of  these 
visitors.  They  may  sometimes  be  trapped  in  the 
following  manner:  Near  the  ponds  erect  some 
poles  about  twenty  feet  in  height,  and  on  these  set 
a  steel- trap,  securely  fastened  to  the  top  of  the 
pole.  As  is  well  known,  it  is  the  habit  of  both 
the  fish-hawk  and  kingfisher  to  rest  upon  the 
tops  of  dead  trees — for  which  the  poles  are  a  good 
substitute.  On  alighting,  the  trap  is  sprung  and 
the  bird  caught.  No  bait  is  required.  In  remov- 
ing the  fish-hawks  from  the  traps  it  is  well  to 
throw  over  them  an  old  coat  or  blanket,  as  they 
are  capable  of  inflicting  severe  wounds  with  both 
claws  and  bill.  The  night-heron  is  decidedly  the 


FIRST  YEAR.  119 

worst  enemy  of  the  fishes,  and  we  are  sorry  to 
say  tha.t  no  means  for  his  capture  or  destruction 
have  as  yet  been  devised.  Flying  at  night  and, 
like  the  owl,  having  the  gift  of  nocturnal  vision, 
he  is  enabled  to  visit  the  pond  with  impunity ; 
and  being  to  a  certain  extent  gregarious,  will 
return,  bringing  with  him  numbers  of  his  fellows. 
Walking  in  darkness,  they  are  comparatively  safe 
from  the  gun,  and  rarely  alighting  upon  trees,  can 
not  be  captured  in  the  pole  traps.  Their  pres- 
ence is  only  known  by  their  peculiar  foot-prints, 
and  a  diminution  in  the  number  of  fishes  in  the 
ponds.  Of  quadrupeds,  the  evils  caused  by  the 
muskrat  have  been  mentioned  (page  36),  and  the 
means  by  which  damage  from  them  may  be  pre- 
vented, noted. 

The  otter  has  fortunately  disappeared  before 
advancing  civilization ;  his  presence  on  a  fish  farm 
would  result  in  the  disappearance  of  the  entire 
stock ;  but  his  cousin,  the  mink,  still  remains,  and 
has  more  than  once  caused  serious  loss.  If  fishes 
are  found  dead  with  a  large  gash,  sometimes 
lengthways  and  sometimes  across  the  throat,  it  is 
a  sure  sign  that  a  visit  has  been  paid  by  a  mink. 
A  vigorous  system  of  trapping  by  an  expert  is  the 
only  remedy,  and  one  of  the  murdered  trout  is 
the  best  bait  that  can  be  obtained.  Water  snakes 
are  particularly  fond  of  trout,  and  have,  during 


120  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

the  last  year,  been  very  abundant  at  Troutdale. 
We  keep  for  their  accommodation  a  large  spear 
with  six  well-sharpened  prongs.  When  alarmed, 
the  snake  hides  himself  in  the  weeds  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  pond,  and  can  be  frequently  speared 
and  killed.  It  may  be  well  here  to  state  that  none 
of  our  northern  water  snakes  are  venomous, 
though  the  deadly  moccasin  of  the  south  is 
aquatic.  Craw-fishes,  it  is  said,  cause  serious  in- 
jury by  burrowing  in  the  banks,  but  though  these 
Crustacea  abound  in  our  locality,  we  have  seen  no 
proofs  of  this.  The  French  writers  denounce  frogs 
as  eaters  of  the  young  fry.  This  may  be  true  of 
French  frogs,  but  we  know  from  experiment  that 
ours  are  innocent  of  any  such  propensity. 

But  the  enemy  most  to  be  dreaded  is  man,  and 
will  be  until  our  legislators  and  the  public  look 
with  less  leniency  upon  fish-stealing.  A  large  pro- 
portion of  the  trout  offered  for  sale  in  the  New 
York  markets  bear  upon  them  the  marks  of  the 
silken  gill  nets,  with  which  they  were  illegally 
taken ;  and  a  proposed  law  for  the  protection  of 
private  fish  ponds,  making  their  robbery  a  felony 
in  lieu  of  a"  trespass,  was  recently  rejected  in  the 
Legislature  of  a  neighboring  State  by  an  almost 
unanimous  vote.  The  burglar  alarm  telegraph 
might  prove  valuable,  though  we  have  never  heard 
of  its  having  been  applied  to  this  purpose. 


FIRST  YEAR.  121 

The  amount  of  food  required  varies ;  atmospheric 
changes  appear  to  affect  greatly  the  appetites  of  the 
young  fishes,  and  we  have  found  even  a  difference 
in  the  readiness  in  which  food  is  taken  at  different 
hours  of  the  day.  In  summer  they,  like  wild  trout, 
feed  best  either  immediately  after  sunrise  or  a  short 
time  before  sunset,  and  even  at  these  hours  it  some- 
times happens  that  they  appear  to  have  lost  all 
relish  for  food.  The  fact  we  know — the  "why  "  is 
beyond  our  knowledge.  As  an  average,  fifty  thou- 
sand young  will  require  when  six  months  old,  and 
well  supplied  with  maggots,  about  a  pound  of 
chopped  heart  thrice  weekly,  though  the  amount 
varies  greatly.  The  practiced  fish  culturist  can 
see  at  a  glance  when  his  fishes  have  had  enough. 
Over-feeding  is  to  be  avoided,  as  it  tends  to  inter- 
fere with  the  breeding  powers  of  the  trout. 

A  case  in  point  came  to  our  knowledge  during 
the  past  year.  A  wealthy  gentleman  of  a  neigh- 
boring State  constructed  a  well-appointed  fish 
farm,  with  well-stocked  ponds.  To  his  surprise 
during  the  spawning  season  but  few  eggs  could  be 
obtained,  and  but  a  small  percentage  of  these  could 
be  impregnated.  We  were  consulted  in  regard  to 
the  matter,  and  our  first  look  at  his  fishes  showed 
us  plainly  the  cause  of  the  trouble.  The  fishes 
were  enormous,  the  bodies  greatly  swelled,  the 
whole  cavity  of  the  abdomen  being  filled  with  lay- 

6 


122  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

ers  of  fat.  It  appeared  that  the  proprietor*had  for 
over  a  year  fed  them  twice  a  day  all  they  could 
eat,  and  the  result  was,  as  might  be  expected, 
barren  and  unhealthy  fishes.  Commence  feeding 
always  at  the  upper  end  of  the  pond,  that  the  un- 
eaten fragments  may  be  carried  downward  toward 
the  fishes  in  the  lower  portion.  Of  course  as  the 
fishes  increase  in  size,  the  size  of  the  fragments  of 
meat  fed  them  may  be  proportionately  increased  ; 
but  in  no  case  should  they  be  so  large  but  that  they 
can  readily  pass  through  the  fish-screen  at  the 
lower  end  of  the  ponds.  From  neglect  of  this  we 
have  seen  many  screens  clogged  up  with  a  mass  of 
half -putrid  meat,  disgusting  to  the  touch  and  diffi- 
cult to  remove. 


SECOND   AND   THIRD   YEARS.  123 


CHAPTER  X. 

SECOND  AND  THIRD  TEARS. 

THE  sojourn  of  the  troutlet  in  the  first  pond  is 
but  short ;  the  l&st  of  our  crop  are  generally  placed 
in  it  about  April  15th,  and  by  November  it  is  im- 
portant that  they  should  be  removed,  that  the 
aquatic  plants  may  grow  and  the  insects  be  pro- 
vided for  the  next  year's  crop.  The  method  of 
removing  them  to  the  second  pond  has  been  men- 
tioned. They  have  now  passed  their  babyhood 
and  require  more  food,  their  growth  is  extremely 
rapid,  and  they  are  much  more  able  to  take  care 
of  themselves ;  and  again  we  meet  with  the  food 
question.  Food  they  must  have,  and  in  full  quan- 
tity ;  and  what  shall  that  food  be  \  It  must  be 
appropriate,  cheap,  and  readily  obtained.  Curd 
has,  of  course,  been  used  ;  we  have  tried  it,  and 
proved  it,  in  our  case  at  least,  to  be  not  only  not 
suitable,  but  absolutely  poisonous.  Our  losses 
were  at  first  very  great,  fifteen  pounds  of  dead 
fishes  per  diem  being  not  unf requently  picked  from 
the  bottom  or  screens  of  our  pond.  For  a  long 
time  we  attributed  this  excessive  mortality  to  other 
causes ;  at  length  the  truth  dawned  upon  us ;  we 


124        PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

changed  the  food  and  the  deaths  ceased.  Up  to 
the  period  of  changing  the  fishes  to  the  second 
pond  heart,  kidney,  or  maggots  had  been  used, 
but  these  are  too  expensive  to  be  longer  continued, 
and  are  replaced  by  the  lungs,  or  lights  as  they  are 
most  commonly  called,  of  calves,  oxen,  and  sheep. 
These  can  be  obtained  at  a  nominal  price  from 
butchers,  except  in  towns  where  the  German  ele- 
ment abounds,  where,  sometimes,  a  high  price  is 
demanded  for  them,  as  they  enter  largely  into  a 
Teutonic  sausage,  in  great  demand  by  the  frequent- 
ers of  free  lunches.  The  lights  are  prepared  for 
fish  food  by  passing  them  through  a  sausage-cutter. 
The  American  Chopper,  which  has  succeeded  so 
admirably  in  cutting  hearts  or  kidneys,  now  proves 
utterly  useless  in  dividing  lights,  and  even  some 
varieties  of  sausage-grinders  fail  entirely.  The  only 
kind  which  we  have  found  to  do  the  work  well  is 
that  in  which  the  knives  are  stationary,  and  'the 
meat  forced  against  them  by  the  pegs  on  the  cylin- 
der; those  with  knives  upon  the  cylinder  do  not 
cut  well. 

We  have  erected  near  our  spring  a  meat-house 
with  an  overshot  water-wheel  attached,  by  which 
all  our  cutting  machinery  is  run,  a  luxury  which 
any  one  who  has  turned  the  handle  of  a  sausage- 
cutter  while  fifty  pounds  of  lights  are  passing 
through  can  readily  appreciate.  For  the  second 


SECOND   AND   THIRD   YEARS.  125 

pond  it  is  well  to  pass  the  "chop"  through  the 
machine  a  second  time.  The  lights  floating  upon 
the  surface  of  the  water,  any  uneaten  pieces  float 
away  instead  of  falling  to  the  bottom  and  contam- 
inating the  water  by  their  decomposition,  while  the 
somersaults  turned  by  the  fishes  in  their  efforts  to 
obtain  them  is  a  sight  which,  after  over  four  years 
of  daily  occurrence,  is  still  as  interesting  and  amus- 
ing in  our  eyes  as  when  first  we  beheld  it.  Since 
our  stock  of  fishes  attained  its  present  size^  we  have 
never  been  able  to  obtain  as  large  a  supply  of  food 
as  we  would  desire ;  yet  we  find  that  our  stock- 
fishes, weighing  in  the  aggregate  about  a  ton  (2,000 
pounds),  thrive  upon  fifty  pounds  a  week,  fed  them 
in  equal  portions  on  alternate  days.  Our  loss  by 
deaths  has  been  reduced  to  almost  a  minimum,  not 
fifty  fishes  having  died  during  the  past  year. 

Yet  other  and  perhaps  more  appropriate  food 
can  be  obtained  in  other  and  more  favored  locali- 
ties. The  killey  fishes,  which  abound  upon  the 
shores  of  Long  Island,  answer  this  purpose  admir- 
ably, being  passed  through  the  ordeal  of  the  chop- 
per before  being  fed  to  the  smaller  trout.  Upon 
the  Connecticut  shore  any  quantity  of  the  intes- 
tines of  fishes  may  be  procured,  which  are  equally 
valuable.  What  is  wanted  is  animal  food;  and 
the  best  which  can  be  cheaply  obtained  should  in  all 
cases  be  used  ;  and  upon  its  cheapness  will  greatly 


126        PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

depend  the  profit  of  the  business.  Trout  fed  for 
four  years  upon  liver  or  heart,  and  then  sold  at 
one  dollar  per  pound  would  certainly  add  nothing 
to  the  pocket  of  the  breeder;  and  whether  trout 
can  be  raised  with  profit  for  market  is  as  yet  an 
unsolved  question.  If  eggs  or  fry  could  be  sold  at 
even  one-half  their  present  market  value,  it  would 
be  the  height  of  folly  to  dispose  of  the  parent  fishes 
at  even  their  present  high  market  value  ;  it  would 
be  killing  the  goose  which  lays  the  golden  egg.  A 
female  trout  of  one  pound  weight  \\  ill  afford  one 
thousand  spawn,  for  which  eight  dollars  ran  bn 
readily  obtained  ;  and,  as  far  as  we  are  aware,  all 
the,  pecuniary  benefits  of  private  fish-farms  have, 
in  this  country  at  least,  been  derived  mostly  from 
the  sale  of  spawn  and  young  fry. 

Many  of  our  trout  spawn  at  the  end  of  tin  -ir 
second  year,  but  this  is  not  always  the  case.  As  far 
as  can  be  ascertained  about  two-fifths  is  the  aver- 
age ;  the  spawn  from  these  is  frequently  much 
larger  than  that  obtained  from  older  fishes. 

The  diseases  to  which  pond  trout  are  liable  are 
but  few,  and  these  mostly  result  from  ignorance  or 
inattention  on  the  part  of  the  proprietor.  A  fun- 
goid growth  is  often  seen  upon  fishes  who,  by 
fighting  or  accident,  have  become  wounded.  Tins 
growth  appears  first  upon  the  wound,  and,  spread- 
ing rapidly,  soon  reaches  the  gills,  when  death  soon 


SECOND  AND  THIRD  TEAKS.  127 

takes  place  from  obstruction  of  respiration.  This, 
however,  occurs  only  in  wounded  fishes,  though 
sometimes  the  wound  is  scarcely  perceptible.  Fe- 
male fishes  frequently  die  during  the  spawning  sea- 
son from  disease  of  the  ovary,  causing  the  eggs  to 
increase  greatly  in  size.  We  have  seen  them  at 
least  one  inch  in  diameter ;  the  pressure  of  this 
enormously  distended  mass  upon  the  intestines 
causes  inflammation,  resulting  in  death.  This  most 
frequently  occurs  in  females  who  have  been  re- 
moved from  other  waters.  Should  the  supply  of 
water  be  insufficient,  of  course  the  fishes  will  die. 
Great  loss  took  place  from  this  cause  at  Williams- 
port,  Pennsylvania,  a  few  years  since,  nearly  the 
entire  stock  having  been  destroyed.  Over-feeding 
in  fish,  as  in  mammals,  renders  them  peculiarly 
liable  to  disease.  It  is  the  experience  of  almost 
every  fish-farmer  that  his  percentage  of  loss  is  al- 
ways in  the  inverse  ratio  to  his  knowledge,  care, 
and  skill.  The  ponds  will  not  run  themselves, 
but  must  be  carefully  attended  to,  and  any  neglect 
on  the  part  of  the  proprietor  is  sure  to  be  followed 
by  disaster  and  loss. 

The  size  which  trout  will  attain  in  a  given  time 
varies  even  with  the  most  careful  attention  to  their 
food.  Once  a  dwarf  always  a  dwarf,  is  the  invari- 
able rule.  We  have  raised  fishes  in  one  year  to 
the  length  of  six  inches,  while  in  the  same  period 


128        PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

of  time  others  in  the  same  pond  had  not  attained 
over  one-third  this  size,  and,  strange  to  say,  the 
smaller  were  almost  invariably  males.  The  aver- 
age size  is  perhaps  that  represented  on  the  opposite 
page  (Fig.  25).  We  have  heard  of  half-pounders 
at  the  age  of  one  year,  but  have  never  seen  them. 
It  may  be  that  some  of  our  fish-raising  brethren 
will  think  that  the  sizes  represented  in  our  figure 
are  too  small,  but  let  them  average  the  contents  of 
a  pond  containing  say  ten  thousand,  and  we  think 
that  they  will  agree  with  us  in  our  estimate  ;  and 
should  we  even  be  found  to  have  erred  in  this 
respect,  we  would  rather  under  than  over-rate. 
Fish  stories  are  proverbial,  and  we  have  seen  pub- 
lished accounts  of  fish-farms  which  plainly  showed 
that  these  stories  were  not  confined  to  wild  fishes. 
Too  frequently  heavy  discount  must  be  allowed  on 
stories  of  fishes  of  wondrous  size  or  in  marvelous 
numbers ;  and  the  visitor  to  a  fish-farm  of  which 
glowing  accounts  have  been  published,  is  too  often 
sadly  disappointed  at  the  great  discrepancy  be- 
tween the  published  account  and  the  reality. 


130  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 


CHAPTER  XL 

TRANSPORTATION  OF  SPAWN  AND  FISHES. 

WE  now  reach  a  point  of  the  greatest  import- 
ance in  regard  to  the  pecuniary  success  of  fish  cul- 
ture. In  a  previous  chapter  we  have  mentioned 
that  at  present  it  is  to  his  sales  of  impregnated 
spawn  and  young  fishes  that  the  fish-farmer  must 
look  for  remuneration  for  his  expenses  in  time, 
labor,  and  invested  capital.  That  he  should  be 
enabled  to  transport  these  long  distances  with 
ease  and  safety  is  a  point  of  vital  importance. 
In  our  experience  we  have  found  that  customers 
are  rarely  willing  to  take  upon  themselves  the 
risks  of  transportation,  and  with  few  exceptions 
the  contract  is  made  with  the  proviso  that  the 
spawn  or  fishes  shall  be  delivered  in  good  condi- 
tion. It  has  been  stated  by  many  foreign  experi- 
menters, that  if  kept  at  the  temperature  of  32° 
the  progress  of  development  of  the  embryo  is  ar- 
rested though  the  vital  principle  is  not  destroyed, 
and  that  upon  the  temperature  being  slowly  and 
carefully  elevated  to  about  40°  the  incubation  will 
again  proceed.  Recent  experiment,  however,  has 
somewhat  modified  this  theory,  and  the  compara- 


TRANSPORTATION  OF  SPAWN  AND  FISHES.      131 

tive  failure  of  the  early  attempts  to  transport  the 
spawn  of  salmon  and  trout  to  Australia  has  shown 
that  at  least  the  period  of  suspension  can  not  be  in- 
definitely prolonged.  We  have  found  that  even  a 
few  hours'  freezing  is  decidedly  injurious  if  not 
fatal  to  the  embryo.  The  eggs  may  hatch,  but 
the  young  most  frequently  will  be  found  weak 
and  puny,  and  will  rarely  survive  until  the  ab- 
sorption of  the  sac  is  completed.  To  prevent 
freezing  is  one  of  the  important  points  in  spawn 
transportation.  Sudden  changes  of  temperature 
must  be  provided  against.  The  season  during 
which  the  spawn  are  shipped  is,  in  our  latitude, 
the  coldest  in  the  year,  and  a  change  of  temper- 
ature of  10°,  much  less  than  the  difference  "between 
a  warm  railroad  car  and  the  external  air,  would 
be  fatal.  Moisture  we  have  found  absolutely  es- 
sential, the  accounts  we  have  heard  of  dried 
spawn  in  the  Canton  markets  notwithstanding ; 
one  hour  in  a  dry,  warm  atmosphere  being  suffi- 
cient to  destroy  the  vitality.  Any  one  who  has 
subjected  spawn  to  microscopic  examination  will 
remember  how  quickly  the  embryo  will  cease  to 
live  unless  the  egg  be  kept  constantly  moist. 

It  is  rarely  possible,  even  if  the  greatest  care  be 
exercised,  that  the  spawn  can  survive  even  a  jour- 
ney of  twenty  miles,  until  ten  days  after  impreg- 
nation, and  unless  some  special  reason  exists  to 


132        PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

the  contrary,  the  eye-specks  should  be  well  devel- 
oped before  shipment.  The  prpper  time  is  from 
the  twentieth  to  the  thirtieth  day,  when  the  tem- 
perature of  the  water  has  been  50° 

If  troughs  have  been  used,  the  spawn  should  be 
first  formed  into  little  heaps  with  a  feather  or 
fine  brush ;  then  taking  the  cribble  (Fig.  26)  in  the 


Fio.  86. 

left  hand  the  eggs  are  brushed  upon  it  and  trans- 
ported to  the  packing  boxes,  any  spawn  remaining 
on  the  gravel  being  picked  up  by  the  bulb  syr- 
inge ;  but  if  the  trays  have  been  employed,  this 
tedious  process  is  greatly  simplified  —  the  grilles 
need  only  be  removed  and  their  contents  emptied 
into  a  large  pan  of  water.  In  the  latter  case,  the 
process  of  counting  is  greatly  facilitated ;  each 
rod  of  the  grille  holding,  on  an  average,  one 
hundred  spawn,  their  number  can  be  readily  es- 
timated. We  have  been  in  the  habit  of  allowing 
from  five  to  ten  per  cent,  additional,  the  amount 


TRANSPORTATION  OF   SPAWN  AND  FISHES.      133 

depending  upon  the  distance  to  be  traveled.  The 
box  in  which  the  eggs  are  placed  for  shipment  is 
of  tin,  of  circular  form,  three  inches  in  diameter, 
and  the  same  in  height,  with  a.  tight-fitting  cover, 
the  bottom  being  perforated  with  small  holes. 
In  the  bottom  of  this  box  is  placed  a  layer  of  fine 
moss,  such  as  is  found  on  rocks  upon  the  bor- 
ders of  streams  in  cool  and  moist  localities ;  this  is 
prepared  by  thorough  washing  and  careful  pick- 
ing over,  all  dirt,  such  as  sticks,  fragments  of 
leaves,  and  minute  pebbles,  being  removed  with 
care.  The  bottom  of  the  box  being  covered  to 
the  depth  of  about  half  an  inch  with  well-damp- 
ened moss,  the  eggs  are  placed  upon  it.  They 
should  be  carefully  spread  with  a  soft  brush. 
They  may  be  allowed  to  touch  and  even  press 
against  each  other,  but  should  not  be  heaped  one 
upon  the  other.  When  well  arranged,  cover  these 
with  another  layer  of  moss,  upon  which  spread  an- 
other tier  of  spawn,  and  thus  continue  until  the 
box  is  filled,  pack  it  full,  but  not  too  full,  only 
that  the  elasticity  of  the  moss  may  keep  the  eggs 
from  being  jarred  by  any  slight  concussion.  The 
whole  is  then  sprinkled  with  water,  and  the  cover 
tied  on  by  a  piece  of  twine.  We  have  shipped 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  spawn  in  moss  with  per- 
fect success,  yet  it  has  been  objected  against  this 
material  that  it  frequently  contains  larva  of  insects 


134 


PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 


which  may  afterward  give  trouble  in  their  new 
home.  Boiling  the  moss  will  destroy  these,  but 
would  render  the  moss  very  liable  to  decomposi- 
tion. Sponge,  thoroughly  cleaned  and  cut  in 
small  pieces,  has  been  used  with  success,  and 
where  moss  could  not  be  procured  we  have  found 
it  a  good  substitute.  To  prevent  freezing  and  pre- 
serve an  equable  temperature  nothing  more  is  nec- 
essary than  to  place  the  box  in  a  tin  pail,  and 


Fio.  87.— SPAWTT  PACKED  FOB  TRAKSFOBTATION. 
A,  A,  A,  A,  MOM  ;  B,  B,  B,  Spawn ;  1,  Spawn  Box ;  2, 2,  2,  Kettle ;  3, 3, 3, 3,  BawduaU 

thoroughly  surround  it  with  sawdust  well  packed, 
and  all  is  done  that  can  be  done.  We  are  aware 
of  the  existence  of  a  patent  spawn  transporter, 
costing  as  many  dollars  as  the  ordinary  one  does 
cents,  but  have  not  been  able  to  find  that  it  pre- 
sents sufficient  advantages  to  compensate  for  the 
increased  expense. 


TRANSPORTATION  OF  SPAWN  AND  FISHES.      135 

Great  loss  has  occurred  to  spawn  in  transit  from 
two  directly  opposite  causes,  viz.  :  carelessness 
and  over  care.  "  Do  not  let  these  freeze  "  marked 
upon  the  pail  has  resulted  in  its  being  placed  in 
close  proximity  to  a  red  hot  stove,  and  the  dents 
found  in  its  sides,  after  consignment  to  the  care  of 
the  Express  Co.,  show  how  much  attention  is  paid 
to  the  attached  printed  label,  u  Handle  with  great- 
est care."  In  all  cases  where  large  quantities  of 
spawn  are  to  be  transported,  they  should  be  sent 
under  the  care  of  a  competent  special  messenger. 

On  arriving  at  their  place  of  destination  the 
spawn  should  not  be  at  once  emptied  into  the 
trays  or  troughs,  the  sudden  change  of  tempera- 
ture being  too  often  attended  with  serious  conse- 
quences. The  kettle  and  sawdust  being  removed, 
the  box  should  be  reversed  and  allowed  to  remain 
for  at  least  one  hour  in  the  water  in  which  the 
spawn  are  to  be  placed,  that  they  may  gradually 
assume  the  proper  temperature.  The  entire  con- 
tents of  the  box  is  then  to  be  emptied  into  a  basin 
of  clean  water.  Most  of  the  moss  may  be  picked 
off  by  hand,  and  the  remainder  can  with  care  be 
floated  off  by  pouring  in  water.  If  trays  are  em- 
ployed, it  is  not  requisite  that  all  the  fine  parti- 
cles be  removed,  but  with  the  troughs  perfect 
cleanliness  is  absolutely  necessary.  Then  with 
the  cribble  or  spoon  the  spawn  may  be  placed 


136        PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

in  the  hatching  apparatus.  It  is  important  that 
sufficient  sawdust  be  placed  around  the  box  in 
which  the  spawn  have  been  packed  ;  less  than  two 
inches  should  never  be  used,  and  even  with  this 
amount  we  have  known  the  eggs  to  have  become 
frozen  during  mid-winter.  A  thick  covering  of 
felt  on  the  outside  of  the  kettle  has  been  suggested, 
and  would  perhaps  answer  well. 

But  many  are  desirous  of  avoiding  the  trouble 
and  responsibilities  of  hatching  spawn,  and  it  is 
required  that  the  fishes  be  delivered  sometimes  at 
remote  points.  When  very  young  fishes  are  de- 
sired, we  have  found  the  best  age  for  transportation 
to  be  about  fifty  days  after  hatching.  At  this 
period  the  yolk  sac  has  been  nearly  entirely  ab- 
sorbed, its  presence  being  only  recognized  by  a 
slight  protrusion  of  the  abdomen.  The  fishes  have 
not  yet  commenced  to  feed,  and  will  stand  a  com- 
paratively long  journey  with  but  few  changes  of 
water.  At  this  season  (March  and  April),  the 
weather  is  cool,  and  the  capacity  of  the  water  for 
retaining  air  is  much  greater  than  when  the  tem- 
perature becomes  more  elevated.  Water  at  the 
temperature  of  50°  will  absorb  about  six  cubic 
inches  of  air  to  the  gallon,  while  at  212°  none  can 
be  retained.  It  is  therefore  seen  that  the  lower  the 
temperature  the  greater  the  amount  of  air  that  will 
be  contained  in  the  water,  and  that  duiing  cool 


TRANSPORTATION   OF   SPAWN  AND   FISHES.      137 

wea-ther  the  greatest  success  may  be  attained  in 
transporting  the  fry. 

But  larger  fishes  must  sometimes  be  transported, 
and  for  this  recourse  must  be  had  to  a  transit  tank. 
The  Troutdale  Transit  Tank  (Fig.  28)  was  invented 


FIG.  28. 

by  us  some  three  years  since,  and  has  always,  in 
competent  hands,  given  perfect  satisfaction.  The 
can  is  constructed  of  heavy  galvanized  sheet  iron  ; 
to  the  outside  is  attached  an  air-pump,  communi- 
cating by  means  of  an  india-rubber  pipe  with  a 
tube  leading  to  the  bottom  of  the  can,  which  ter- 
minates in  a  nose  similar  to  that  of  a  watering-pot 
pierced  with  minute  holes.  By  simply  working 
the  handle,  air  is  driven  in,  and  being  divided  into 
fine  bubbles  by  the  nose,  completely  aerates  the 
water,  restoring  the  oxygen  consumed  in  respira- 
tion by  the  fishes.  On  the  interior,  about  h.alf  way 
between  the  bottom  and  top,  a  ring  of  strong  wire 
is  soldered  ;  on  this  can  be  laid  a  perforated  plate, 


138  PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

dividing  the  can  into  two  divisions,  a  matter  of 
importance  when  fishes  of  different  ages  and  can- 
nibalistic propensities  are  to  be  transported. 
Should  the  weather  be  warm,  a  tray  with  perfor- 
ated bottom  is  fitted  to  the  top  and  filled  with  ice, 
the  drip  from  which  will  keep  the  temperature 
sufficiently  low.  Around  the  top  of  the  can  are 
inserted  windows,  as  they  may  be  termed,  of  fine 
wire  gauze.  The  whole  is  surrounded  by  a  conical 
cover.  The  air-pump  is  attached  to  the  sides  of 
the  can  by  thumb-screws,  so  that  with  the  india- 
rubber  tube  it  may  be  removed  and  packed  inside 
on  a  return  trip.  We  have  been  frequently  obliged 
to  leave  home  with  fish  by  daybreak,  in  order  to 
reach  a  distant  point  during  the  same  day.  To 
capture  and  count  the  fishes,  sometimes  amounting 
to  many  thousands,  immediately  prior  to  starting, 
would  necessitate  early  rising,  a  luxury  which  we 
by  no  means  enjoy.  The  windows  of  wire  gauze 
are  now  of  use.  The  fish  are  taken,  counted,  and 
placed  in  the  tank  over  night,  the  air-pump  is 
removed,  and  the  can,  with  cover  firmly  attached, 
is  sunk  in  swift-running  water,  which,  passing 
through  the  windows,  will  keep  the  captives  in 
good  order.  The  only  objection  to  these  windows ' 
is  that  during  transit  over  rough  railroads  the 
water  will  sometimes  splash  through  them,  causing 
too  often  profane  remarks  on  the  part  of  the  bag- 


TRANSPORTATION   OF  SPAWN  AND  FISHES.      139 

gage-master  or  express  agent,  and  rendering  the 
administration  of  another  " quarter"  necessary. 
It  is  therefore  well  in  large  establishments  to  have 
a  special  can  for  keeping  the  fishes  over  night. 

If  several  cans  are  used  at  once  but  one  air- 
pump  is  necessary,  as  the  india-rubber  tube  can 
be  removed  from  one  can  and  slipped  on  another. 
The  pump  should  be  made  in  the  best  manner  and 
with  but  one  valve,  as  every  additional  valve  will 
double  the  chance  of  getting  out  of  order — a  se- 
rious matter  when  the  lives  of  hundreds  of  fishes 
are  involved.  Our  first  attempt  at  transporting 
large  fish  in  this  tank  was  in  December,  1869.  We 
desired  to  exhibit  at  the  Show  of  the  New  York 
Poultry  Society  a  series  of  our  finest  fishes.  Sev- 
enty-one were  selected,  and  though  sixteen  hours 
elapsed  before  they  could  be  placed  in  the  Society's 
tanks,  but  one  fish  died  upon  the  passage,  and 
this  was  previously  diseased.  But  one  change  of 
water  was  made,  and  this  was  necessitated  by  the 
upsetting  of  the  can  and  the  spilling  of  the  fishes 
in  the  bottom  of  the  express  wagon.  Among  the 
fishes  were  ten  averaging  a  pound  and  a  half  each. 
"VVe  were  honored  by  the  Society  with  a  bronze 
medal  for  this  invention.* 

*  We  also  received  the  great  gold  medal  of  the  Society,  value 
eighty  dollars,  for  our  display  illustrative  of  the  science  of  fish 
culture. 


140        PRACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 

Even  during  the  hottest  weather,  if  the  ice-pan 
is  kept  well  supplied,  there  is  rarely  need  of 
changing  the  water  oftener  than  once  in  twelve 
hours  ;  often  changing  is  injurious  to  the  fishes. 
In  the  present  age  of  rapid  transit,  every  hour  may 
bring  the  traveler  to  water  of  entirely  different 
qualities.  Rain-water  should  never  be  used,  ex- 
cept in  a  case  of  emergency.  Fishes  will  live,  and 
sometimes  thrive,  in  waters  of  entirely  different 
chemical  character  from  those  in  which  they  were 
born  and  bred ;  but  when  confined  in  a  can  are 
peculiarly  susceptible  to  any  change  in  the  quality 
of  the  element. 

No  fear  need  be  felt  that  the  carbonic  acid  elim- 
inated in  respiration  by  the  fishes  will  injure  them. 
Trout  are  frequently  found  in  waters  saturated 
with  this,  to  man,  noxious  gas  ;  and,  in  fact,  there 
are  few  of  our  limestone  springs  which  are  not  in 
this  condition. 

We  have  made  some  experiments  on  the  preser- 
vation of  living  fishes  in  air-tight  tanks  in  which  a 
large  amount  of  air  had  been  compressed.  The 
results  have,  thus  far,  not  been  in  all  cases  favor- 
able ;  yet  should  this  succeed,  and  we  have  not  as 
yet  given  up  hopes  of  success,  living  fishes  may 
be  shipped  by  express  as  freight  or  ordinary  bag- 
gage. We  hope  that  if  any  one  of  our  readers 
should  succeed  in  this  method  he  will  not  at  once 


TRANSPORTATION   OF  SPAWN  AND  FISHES.      141 

secure  it  "by  letters-patent,  as  is  too  much  the  cus- 
tom of  late.  Neither  our  transit-tank,  nor,  in  fact, 
any  apparatus  invented  by  us,  is  secured  to  the 
inventor,  and  we  will  be  most  happy  to  hear  of 
their  use  and  success  in  the  hands  of  our  piscicul- 
tural  brethren. 


142  PEACTICAL  TROUT  CULTURE. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  FISH  CULTURE. 

FOR  the  convenience  of  those  who  wish  to  know 
what  has  been  written  upon  the  subject,  we  append 
a  list  of  the  works  on  fish  culture  now  in  our 
library.  We  are  aware  that  the  list  is  not  com- 
plete, but  believe  that  it  contains  all  works  upon 
the  subject  which  can  be  readily  obtained.  Many 
are  more  curious  than  useful,  having  been  written 
by  individuals  having  no  practical  knowledge  of 
the  subject.  In  the  arrangement  the  alphabetical 
order  has  been  observed,  for,  as  Dibdin  remarks, 
we  may  differ  in  our  ideas  of  arrangement,  but  all 
know  our  alphabet. 

AGASSIZ,  vide  Vogt 

ASHWORTH,  E.  &  P.    On  the  Propagation  of  Salmon  and  other 

Fish.    12mo.    Stockport  and  London,  1859. 
BERTRAM,  J.  G.    The  Harvest  of  the  Sea.    8vo.    London,  1869. 
n i . A N <  1 1 A  ui >,  E.    Lea  Poissons  des  eaux  douces  de  la  France*    8vo. 

Paris,  1866.     Contains  an  interesting  section  on  fish  culture. 
Boccmus,  G.    A  Treatise  on  the  Management  of  Fish  in  Rivers 

and  Streams.    8vo.    London,  1848. 

BUCKLAND,  FRANK.    Fish-Hatching.    12mo.    London,  1863. 
CARBONNIER,  P.    Guide  practique  du  Pisciculture.    12mo.    Paris^ 

1864. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY   OF  FISH   CULTURE.  143 

COSTE,  M.    Instructions  practique  sur  ia  Pisciculture.    2d  edition. 

12ino.     Paris,  1852. 
COSTE,  M.    Voyage  d'exploration  sur  la  littoral  de  la  France  et 

Italic.    4to.     Paris,  1SG1. 
COUMES.     Rapport  sur  la  Pisciculture  et  la  pCche  fluviales  en 

Angleterre  en  Ecosse  et  en  Ireland.    4to.    Strasbourg,  1863. 
DAVY,  SIR  EL     Salmonia ;  or,  Days  of  Salmon-Fishing.    2d  edition. 

12mo.    London,  1829.     Contains  (page  40)  an  account  of  Ja- 

cobi's  experiments. 

FRANCIS,  F.    Fish  Culture.    2d  edition.  12mo.    London,  1865. 
FUY,  W.  H.    Artificial  Fish-Breeding.     12mo.    New  York,  1854. 
GARLICK,  T.    A  Treatise  on  the  Artificial  Production  of  Fish.    8vo. 

New  York,  1852.    Scarce. 

GREEN,  SETH.    Trout  Culture.    12mo.    Rochester,  1870. 
HAXO,  DR.    Fecundation  artificielle  des  oeufs  de  Poissons.    8vo. 

2d  edition.    Epinal,  1853. 
HUNINGUE.    Notice  historique  sur  I'etablissement  de  Pisciculture. 

4to.    Strasbourg,  1862. 
KOLTZ,J.P.J.    Traite  de  Pisciculture  practique.    3d  edition   12nio. 

Paris,  1860. 
LAMY,  I.    Neauveau  elements  de  Pisciculture.    12mo.    Paris  et 

Chartres,  1866. 
NOEL,  E.    Pisciculture,  Pisciculteurs  et  Poissons.    12mo.    Paris, 

1856. 

NORRIS,  T.  American  Fish  Culture.  12mo.  Philadelphia.  1868. 
PEARD,  W.  Practical  Water  Farming.  16mo.  Edinburg,  1866. 
PISCARIUS.  The  Artificial  Production  of  Fish.  3d  edition.  12mo. 

London,  1852. 
REMY,  J.  (Haxo,  editeur).     Guide  de  Pisciculture.     12mo.    Paris, 

1854. 
VOGT,  C.    Embryologie  des  Salmones.    8vo,  with  Atlas  folio.   Neuf- 

chatel,  1842.    This  work  forms  the  first  volume  (all  issued) 
j  of  Agassiz's  "  Histoire  Naturelle  des  Poissons  de  1'Europe 

Centrale." 


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